World of Chaos
by FreakyWeird
Summary: A world where vampires live out in the open but chaos and blood rule. Claire has managed to find relative peace since she ran, but when she turns around and Shane is there to kidnap her, both of them find it difficult being around each other. OOC/lemonade
1. Chapter 1

**So, just to tell you, this isn't set in Morganville, just a random place. There are vampires all over the world, you'll get the gist. If you read this and don't R + R I will psychically decapitate you. OOC, Lemonade. Claire POV.**

I sighed in frustration and rubbed the roots of my hair. I worked out the equations again, and sighed with relief. I put it all together and there it was, I sent the information in a quick impatient email. _Note to self_ Claire thought, _don't do odd jobs for NASA again._

I pulled away from the computer for the first time in hours, and stumbled my way into the kitchen. White light poured from underneath the plastic counters. That was life, I have seen pictures of nice homely pictures where you would want to raise a family, but now it's all harsh metal and safe plastic. I pulled the ingredients out of the fridge and started chopping when a warning flash went through the kitchen. I had intruders.

I carried on chopping, they moved silently, and pretty soon I heard the clicks of guns. I sighed, place the knife down, and wiped my hands on a towel and turned around. They were a contrast to the harsh white kitchen, dressed in black, just their faces uncovered. They all had powerful guns pointed at me.

"Hello Shane." I said peacefully.

"Claire."

I sighed; he was giving me no room. I looked at him in the eye, his eyes were deep brown and unemotional. "So, why are you here?"

"Like you don't know," blurted Rad.

"Actually," I said one hand on my hip, "I have been working. I was finding a lost satellite for NASA."

"They lose satellites?"

"Apparently."

"Enough." Shane snapped, "You're wanted Claire, we aren't going to hurt you, just make sure our enemies don't get you."

"Well, this can go either way Shane. I can either kick up a fuss, or I can come with you peacefully. Who wants me?"

"Bishop." I could tell he wasn't lying. Shane didn't lie these days.

"Oh let's just take her down!" A new guy said, he raised his gun at me.

But it was shot out of his hand as Shane yelled "Put it down!"

They all whirled, and then they realised that guns were hanging down from hatches in the ceiling. Then they saw Newton, my Akita. He was watching, passively as long as I was calm.

"If I came with you, where would you take me?"

"Away." Shane said, he was the only one who hadn't moved.

I sighed and slouched against the counter, considering my choices. But there was no choice really; I would do anything to be with Shane. I nodded; he relaxed, said a few orders and then gestured for me to follow. I followed him to the back door, outside, it was chilly, and I hadn't even stopped for shoes. Too late now, we were on the move. I let Newton out, he was a clever dog, he would find me eventually.

Out in the back garden we moved to the side alley, where sleek black motor bikes where waiting. "You've got to be kidding."

Shane looked at me over his shoulder, "You're coming with me." I whimpered as he climbed onto one of them, and it roared to life.

"You don't even have _helmets_! Are you crazy?" Then I was bodily lifted by Rad and put on behind Shane. I squealed as Shane set off, and grabbed him around the waist.

We were out of the alley and making our way through the city. If Shane was anything, it wasn't subtle. We rode to the east, I saw it in the corner of my eye but it didn't fully register until it was too late. The next thing I knew the bike beneath me buckled and twisted and I was ripped away from Shane.

I landed in a puddle in the middle of the road, winded and gasping for breath. I could hear shouts and guns. I rolled over and tried to get to my feet, but hands were around me, cold hands.

_Vampires_.

Whoever had me ran from the bikers and tossed me into the SUV that the shooters had poured out of. I hit the other door, and stumbled for the door handle. My breath caught as it opened, I waited until they were driving, there were two of them, arguing in some forgotten language in the front. As the SUV turned I slipped out and ran straight forward to a dark alley.

_Get out of sight_ My mind said, _then get away._

I hid behind a dumpster, hearing the squeal of tyres. A few footsteps, then someone came into the alley. _Stupid, should have gone deeper_. They caught sight of me and dragged me up by my hair. I coughed, "Ysandre."

"Claire honey, you look a little wet." She pouted, and then put a knife to my throat, the cold metal nipping. "To be honest, I doubt I'll use this, it's all about show these days. I've been _dying_ to rip into your throat. It's all the rage these days." She dragged me out into the alley. The bikers had quickly overcome the shock of the initial attack, pegged where I had been dragged to, realised that there was still a chance and had taken the SUV. They were waiting now, Shane was standing at the head, and the rest were pacing behind him like restless hunters with the SUV burning behind them.

The other vamp had run. The SUV was burning behind Shane; it was scary how little he cared for the proximity. "Shane," Ysandre purred, "I've missed you. Where have you been?" She kissed my throat. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Shane. Before we split, he would have been spitting fire he would have been so angry about that move, now, he didn't care. No, I thought as I looked at him, he cared. I was money that was all I was. A job.

Who would have guessed that slacker Shane cared for his work? Ysandre made an impatient sound in the back of her voice. Then I felt the tickle of fangs as the very tips brushed my neck softly as her jaw stretched to encompass my biggest vein. I could feel her cool breath on the side of my neck, I jerked and my hand rose to ward her off. My silver ring scolded her.

She hissed and jerked back. I looked at my ring, _of course._ I took it off and pressed it into her throat. As she screamed I tossed my ring into her mouth. She spat it out, and before I could get away she back handed me. Darkness consumed.

**This is just a small chapter, I know, but if I get a satisfying amount of reviews I'll write a longer chapter next time ;{D**

**FW ;{D**

**P.S. Is her name Ysandre, I forget, oh well**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews, very happy I am doing this. This is Shanes POV. **

Claire felt so small in my arms, so fragile. I found it hard not to look down at her as I carried her to the car Monica brought when we called her. My heart beat hard and fast, like I was on some high or on a roller coaster. I wondered if it registered to her despite the fact she was unconscious, I was holding her close enough for her to hear it. Some part of me hoped that she would hear it, cared that it still beat faster for her, just her.

When I climbed into the back seat Monica looked over her shoulder and sneered. "Monica," I barked, "Just drive."

"Fine," She said contemptuously.

Monica _hated_ Claire. But she still respected her. Back when I lived in Morganville, which is now called Origin, Claire and I used to date. We were also in love and living together, so I guess dating didn't quite cut it. I was one of the only guys Monica couldn't get, and she still can't. I hate her like she hates Claire, but she's useful to have around and happy to be under my leadership.

Monica pulled up to the Garage. It was a big old air hanger in the wastelands out of the city. Once upon a time, this mad inventor gave me this machine that repelled humans and vampires, so we can't be found. This was the base of my operations. Monica opened the car door and I slid out with Claire still in my arms. I headed straight for my apartment at the back of the hanger, kicking the door open and jogging up the stairs.

Apartment was kind of pushing it. It was an open space, my bed at the back, kitchen at the front and a couch and TV squished at the side, a pile of long forgotten games and an xbox underneath the TV.

I gently laid Claire out of the bed and then pressed the button on my wireless hands free radio, "This is Alpha calling Doc, come to my apartment ASAP, Alpha out."

"This is Doc calling Alpha, on my way, Doc out." Came the immediate reply. Sometimes, between the conversations with the lads that I overheard on the radio they took hours to reply to each other. With me, there was never a delay.

I walked to the kitchen and opened my small fridge; there was some milk, the expiration date a while back, fresh orange juice that I used to take pain killers, and some old food that I probably never had intention of cooking when I bought it. I pulled the orange juice out and took a packet of painkillers from the nearest draw, popping them out of the foil packet. They went down with a swallow of OJ right out of the carton. That fall on the bike had scraped me bad.

The door opened downstairs and footsteps started to ascend the stairs. I turned as I heard a murmur behind me. I put the carton on the counter and walked over to Claire, she was waking. I knelt next to her where I had put her on the bed.

She turned her head and breathed deeply into the pillow. Her honey coloured eyes opened and her eyes met mine. She smiled, as if we were back at the Glass house and we'd woken peacefully on a Saturday morning. One blink later and she realised where we were, the smile disappeared.

"Sir?" I turned, Doc was there. He was a real doctor, and he knew Claire, they had worked on some crazy cure back in the good old days when Vampires were few and far between. Doc Mills was staring at Claire happily, they had been friends, but then he glanced at me, clearly remembering our past.

I stood, and jerked my head in her direction, "Blow to the head, she's been under for at least ten minutes. Check her neck as well, she's going to have whip lash after that hit."

I walked away to the windows that over looked the floor. It was one giant workshop, and my people scurried over it. Busy bees in a hive, but we were more like ants, crawling all over everywhere and bloody hard to kill.

The sky outside the giant open doors, big enough to fit a jet engine plane through, was dark but clear. Lamps and lights were lit at several of the stations around the floor, but the shooting range as closed and so was the kitchen. Most of the guys who came here on a day to day basis had gone home, but the men and Monica had stuck around after the mission, as well as the Doc. He was always around here somewhere. There was a pit in the concrete floor in the centre of the giant airy hall; it was lit most of the time. It was always cold here. The guys who had been on the mission were sat around this on the benches that surrounded it.

I glanced over at Claire; Doc Mills was shining a light into her eyes. I wonder what she will think of all this.

I heard her and Doc talking and looked away. I couldn't show any affection, any feeling. I turned and went to the kitchen, filling a small glass with orange juice and popping two more pills into my palm out of the packet. I walked over to Claire.

"Here, take these." She held out her palm, smooth and unmarked. I dropped the pills into her hand and passed her the glass.

"Painkillers?" She sounded surprised.

"They're strong ones. Trust me." I regretted saying it as soon as the words left my mouth. She raised her head and met my eyes, challenging. I didn't back down. Doc finally broke the tension and we both looked away with relief, I looked at him, "Status?"

"She can't walk around much; she needs rest but wake her up every three hours. She'll ache for a while. How are you?"

I walked to the kitchen once Claire handed me her glass back. There I shook my jacket off my shoulders and lifted my shirt over my head. I wonder it Claire is watching, looking at my body. My heart rate increases. Some guilty part of me wants her to be looking, assessing.

Doc Mills hissed, "Road rash, not too bad but it's nasty." He started dabbing ointment on as I heard the door downstairs slam open and someone begin to stomp up the stairs. Doc Mills saw me tense and ran over before whoever it was could reach the top of the stairs. I may have chosen to live here but that was out of convenience, I thought, I still wanted my privacy.

Doc Mills was back, looking annoyed. As he carried on with my back he sighed, "Monica."

I tensed. Some days I regretted saving Monica's ass, but she also came in handy. Doc was done, brushing down the last of the medical tape over the bandage. He knew my moods, and left before he got burned. I turned and glanced at Claire, she was already back asleep, curled on top of the blankets.

I headed for the stairs as the door below closed behind Doc Mills. Behind me, she said, "Where do you think you're going?"

I frowned and turned, "I thought that you were asleep."

She was sat up now, looking royally pissed off. She waved her hand, "I didn't want Dr Mills pestering me. Do you mind updating me?"

But I was indulging myself, and I loved it when Claire looked angry. She had changed a lot, her brown hair had grown down to the middle of her back and had been dyed a darker brown. Her face was less round and she had lost a lot of weight. She hadn't been fat when they had split, but every time Shane dreamed it was of her soft curves. She was thin now, probably bordering on anorexia. But it wasn't just that, it was like something vital had disappeared from inside her, her spirit, her fire for life.

But I couldn't exactly talk, mine had too.

I sighed and walked over, sitting at her feet. I almost reflectively reached out for her. "I've been getting into Bishops business for a while now. I don't like Amelie, but Bishop pissed me off the other week and I wanted him to pay for it. Besides, his minions have been stopping my profits all around the city for months now. I wanted to hurt him where it aches, so I hacked into his personal radio and realised he was planning something big to bring Amelie down."

Claire interrupted me, "I've been out of touch with the vamp community for ages, explain."

"Bishop and Amelie have been at each other's throats for a while now, there's a vampire war going on. Mainly its territorial, but I suspect there are other motives. Bishop wanted to find out all Amelie's little secrets and he wanted to use humans kill her forces, one by one. He just needed one thing, Morganville secrets. Despite the fact he gained that ground a while ago and tore the town upside down looking for anything, she had already hidden everything well.

"Amelie's strategic peak was during Morganville, and the only last accessible person, one of the only people who knew most of her secrets back in Morganville, is you. Bishop wanted you for several other reasons but let's not go into them. Plus, Amelie still cares enough for you to leave you alone, so that made you even more desirable.

"I intercepted the message to Ysandre to fetch you, and I got to you first. It was close, but a lot of the people who volunteered for the job are from Morganville, and they remember you. Most of my people are on Amelie's side, and when they heard that you used to work with her personally, they wanted to save you as well. Currently, you're in my place at headquarters. No vampire or human can find us here; Myrnin gave me a computer that repels everyone unless the computers have been specifically modified not to."

I looked at her over, wondering if she had taken the sudden rush of information in, she wasn't used to my updates like my boys, but then I remembered, she's Claire, of course she did. She could learn from Einstein if he was on speed, and from what I've heard from some of the vamps that knew him, he was pretty high in the sky in the first place.

Claire nodded and then asked, "Why are you doing this?"

I shrugged, turning so I was facing straight forward at my dark blue wall, "Anything to disadvantage Bishop."

"That's not all though is it?" Claire asked softly.

Normally, I reflected, I would have gotten pissed and snapped at them. But I can rarely get pissed at Claire, when I'm around her, there's just something about her that turns my anger into something else. I looked at her over my shoulder; she turned my anger into lust. I shook my head, as if getting rid of the thoughts and then stood up leaving her on my bed to rest.

There was just something so wrong about that. I was horny and practically running from a woman in my bed.

Downstairs I opened the door, and Monica was sat on a bench waiting from me. The reason my gut was tight went from suppressed lust to suppressed annoyance and a little bit of violence. My anger flared up again. "We need to speak." I said as I sat next to her on the bench.

"Good, I want to know why that _girl_ is in your room, probably in your bed!" She huffed.

I glared at her and snarled, "You're over stepping your boundaries." She shrunk back again, shrivelling like an old potato. "Now Monica, I'm going to ask questions about Bishop," at this she flinched, "And if I'm happy with you afterwards, I may answer your questions."

Monica took a deep breath. She had been hopping a thin line between working for Amelie and working for Bishop when this whole vampire thing blew out of proportion faster than an un-popped popcorn corn spinning in a microwave. She ended up an unwilling servant of Bishop, but managed to sleep half her way up the Bishop ladder. Up there, she got Bishops attention. He lost patience with her one time and that's when I crossed her, bitten and bloody, running through the streets of the city.

She gulped, "What do you want to know?"

"What was Bishop planning to do and why did he need Claire?"

She laughed, "You may have your delusions Shane but Claire is _not_ the innocent bystander you see her to be. I know for a fact that both Amelie and Bishop have been looking for her for the past two years, I should know, I was on the team looking for her. Amelie had her own team; we had a kind of rivalry between us. Somehow, some way, Claire has managed to hide underneath both of their noses and still be working for the big boys. You don't do that without a little bit of mischief.

"I don't know how Bishop finally found her; I don't even know how you found her." Monica paused, hoping I would explain. She sighed, her disappointment clear, "The truth is, Claire is like a daughter to Amelie. I know she doesn't show it, but Bishop knows how to read her, he knows what she is like. After all, they may hate each other's guts but one did raise the other, and those things matter. So Bishop considered Claire to be a sort of granddaughter, and once when I asked him why he wanted to find Claire so bad, he said something about never having a true conversation with her."

"He wants to _bond_?" I asked incredulously.

"Uh huh. But that's not all. Claire has already shown what good a commodity she is in the past. I believe it to be Bishops true intent to hire her."

My fists balled up and my knuckles turned white, he wanted to turn her. My Claire.

I stood up, "I'm going for a walk." I couldn't think those thoughts anymore.

I started walking but Monica followed me, "Wait! I'll come with you!"

I stopped and sighed, "Monica, I just need some air. I'm not thinking straight. Do me a favour and tell the boys to go home."

I walked out the back door not waiting for an answer. Monica had seen some bad crap when she worked for Bishop. It was strange; I always thought that she couldn't be helped. Monica was crazy, end of it. All her life her parents and brother had tried to get her help, but she was always the same psychotic Monica. What she had needed was the complete opposite thing; she needed a slap upside the head. She needed to be shown the real deal.

That had shocked her, and Bishop had straightened her out, mentally speaking. She was half decent now, and her ego and confidence had gone way down. But to me, she was still my little sister's killer.

When I got back I went back into my apartment and checked the time, I had been out for hours. I did a double take when I got in; next to Claire on the bed was a giant dog. It looked up at me as I walked in and then set its head back down on one of my pillows. I faintly remember there being a dog at Claire's house. But how did it get in here? Huh, brainy dog for a brainy woman.

I followed Doc Mills instructions and woke Claire up. I shook her lightly on the shoulder. Her eyes flew open and her hand circled my forearm. It was so small it barley reached around. "Shane." Claire said, but it was her realising where she was than asking what I was doing.

"Doc Mills told me to wake you every three hours, it's gone past." I noted, looking at the clock on my beside table. Claire sat up quickly, "Wow there!" I said, warning her.

The hand that wasn't on my forearm rested on her head as she grimaced, "Ysandre really clocked me one. What time is it? Newton?"

The dog raised its head at her acknowledgement of his presence, and then rolled onto its back for a belly scratch. That was one big dog. "Err, around two in the morning, why?" I answered.

Claire rolled off the bed, "Have you got a bathroom?"

Yeah, through there," I nodded to the little bathroom, watching as Claire walked to it slightly unbalanced. I frowned as she didn't close the door behind her, but sank to her knees and puked into the toilet.

I sighed and got my handheld radio from its charger in the kitchen. My hand free was still on the counter where I took it off as Doc Mills patched me up. I clicked the radio, "This is alpha calling Doc, alpha out."

I waited a few moments and then called, "Claire, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine!" She snapped.

"This is Doc calling Alpha, is it important because I'm tired, Doc out."

"Alpha calling Doc, Danvers is being sick, is that a bad sign? Alpha out."

"Doc to Alpha, I'll be there in a minute, Doc out."

**So, what do you think? Review, now, or else. I'm updatin once I've got to eight reviews, I think. Those four who reviewed, you're so good in your taste of literature, your shockin,**

**FW ;{D**

**P.S., I know theres a fair few grammar mistakes, haven't had good time to read through.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I have fans! I 3 my fans! Ahh! Overwhelmed by the response to the review demand, I'm gunnar do them more often! You's lot are the best ever! Claire POV.**

Dr Mills said I had a concussion. He would have been more worried at first except people who get concussions don't normally go under for so long when they first get hit, though when have I ever been normal? Throughout it all Shane stood in my periphery and Newton nudged my hand with his big wet black nose.

I was on Shane's couch now, staring blankly at the TV that had a lot of dust covering it. Shane mustn't have used it in a while. I stroked Newton's black and dark honey brown soft fur, he was lay at the side of the couch. I had the feeling he really wanted to lie next to me on the couch, but seeming as that would involve crushing me he resisted.

Shane moved on his bed, I watched him in silent awe as he stood up. Shane had grown even more from the last time I had seen him, never a pleasant memory. He wasn't as wide as some guys, but he was taller and definitely more muscled. He came towards me; I guess another three hours had passed.

"I'm awake." I said softly.

Shane had given me his duvet since he got the bed. I didn't want to puke all over it, but I think that phase had passed now. I snuggled into it further as he paused, breathing his smell in deeply. At least that hadn't changed.

Shane huffed, "Couldn't get to sleep?"

"No." I replied. He almost sounded like the old Shane.

He came towards me and then sat at the floor near my head, his back to the couch, and stroked Newton who was beside him. "He's one big dog, what did you say his name was?"

"Newton. I've trained him as a guard dog. Better than people, I guess."

"I guess." He said softly. From his tone of voice I could tell he felt guilty for something, he needed to get something off his chest.

I started the ball rolling, "So, tell me about the wolves."

"You know about us?" Shane asked, surprised.

I did. I was quite offended he would think otherwise. Shane had been getting himself into trouble in Morganville when I left, we had been arguing for a while but his constant disappearances put a toll on me. Once I settled at MIT I looked him up, his 'friends' who he'd been hanging around with had been busy. He was a gang leader, just like his father.

They were named the wolves for the way they worked, in a pack. Shane apparently was the leader. He did his thing and Amelie did hers. Morganville was then ruled by three. Oliver, Amelie and for the first time a human had some serious influence in Morganville, Shane. Shane did what he wanted as long as he thought it was right, and that ticked the vampires off, but none of them dared step in his way. Then in rolled Bishop and all hell broke loose.

Shanes pack had grown in power and size since then, but so had the vamps, so had Amelie and Bishop. Vampires were on a world wide scale, but despite that fact vampirism was only bestowed upon those of special consideration to Amelie and Bishop. Only one or two humans were converted into vampires every month. Claire had done the sums, when Morganville first exploded out into the world, humans had been being turned faster than they could realise what the monster attacking them was.

Now there were plenty of vampires in the world, and if they weren't careful, blood would run low. Shane and his wolves were a mixed group of vampires and humans. The wolves were notorious and hard to catch. A lot of people thought they were myth, propaganda meant to give humans fake hope of survival.

A gang of ruffians playing the big boy game, how wrong those poor people were.

"No," Clary lied to Shane, "I know of you. Everyone does, but I don't know much. I told you, I left the right circles to hear more than rumours about you."

Shane looked at her over his shoulder, "Me and the old guys, we were just so... angry. After you left Amelie went mad, no one could talk her out of an execution like you used to be able to. After we heard a third guy had been caged in founders square, we thought, we complain and we moan and we work as if were working for something, but nothing's going to happen. The vamps will do what they want, why can't we.

"We broke them out of there. After that, when we heard of something, a vamp gone astray or an attack, we put them in their place. But it gave humans some balls, and then they started to get out of line. I may have not agreed with Oliver and Amelie on everything, but I know when bravery crosses to stupidity, and its common sense not to try and set Oliver on fire or to try and kill Amelie. So we put them in their place before Amelie and Oliver could get to them. After all, we didn't want people burning in those cages but we couldn't be bothered saving them when they had put themselves in there in the first place

"We had direction." Shane said simply.

"Which was what?" I asked.

"Do the right thing." He paused, took a deep breath and blew it all out in one gust, "When you left...When we first started out," He changed, "I did some things I'm not proud of. Sometimes I still make myself sick thinking about them. One morning though, I woke up to Rad shaking my shoulder calling me sir and asking me what I should do. I thought, you're older than me, decide yourself, but then it hit me. I was their leader. I had responsibility, and the position fit me well. I could easily do this, but I couldn't become my dad, and I didn't want to be Amelie or Oliver or Bishop, so I just went with my gut feeling. I remember you telling me once that when you get down to it, I wasn't like any of them. So I just did what my gut told me.

"When everything went boom I managed to keep my people out of the way of vamps. As I was leaving, Myrnin said that he wanted me to have this machine; he told me what it was and how it worked. I took it; we found this place after a while of going from place to place, and as Amelie and Bishop set up shop in the city I thought I might as well squat here. Myrnin's machine protected us. Now I keep an eye on things, have a steady profit coming in and have good people working for me."

He finished and smirked slightly to himself at the irony of it all. I spoke, "I know this doesn't really matter much, but I'm proud of you."

Shane stood up then, suddenly angry. He turned and towered over me, even Newton got out of the way. Shane snarled, "We aren't together Claire, it doesn't matter!"

His overreaction pressed my buttons, "Yes it does Shane. You might think you're a completely different person but when it gets right down to it you're still the same guy!" I was sitting up now, staring defiantly into his eyes. "Like it or not I know you, and despite everything, _everything,_ I'm still proud of you. I'm not going to hold back my opinion just in case it makes you flip so calm. The fuck. Down, Shane." I emphasised.

He knelt on the edge of the couch and with both hands on my shoulders pressed me against the back of the couch, his face right over mine. "Don't tell me what to do Claire; it's not your place." He growled from deep in his throat, the bass of his throat so low it was barely recognisable as human.

But I wasn't letting him intimidate me, I may have 'agreed', in which I was forced onto the back of a motorbike and brought twenty miles into waste land unconscious, to come with him but he wasn't controlling me. I leant up, "I'm not telling you what to do Shane Collins, I'm telling you that you can't tell me what to do!"

Our faces were almost touching we were that close together. My heart thudded hard in my ears at the stare off. I realised with a jolt that Shane worked like an alpha now and his instincts were telling him I was challenging his leader ship.

But just because I knew that didn't mean it changed anything. I placed my hands on either side on his rib cage and brought him down so I could press my mouth against his ear, his shaggy hair brushing my face, "You aren't my leader Shane, but I'm not yours either. So let's just agree we don't try to dominate each other and move on?"

I realised with a ripple of fear that one of his hands had moved from my shoulder to my neck, his thumb pad resting against my pulse. I waited until Shane got hold of his anger and nodded, but he didn't move from his position, head next to mine, and hand on my neck with his body pressing mine into the back of the couch.

He finally straightened and stepped back, we looked at each other for a while, and then he turned and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door. Okay, so he hadn't _quite _got hold of his anger. I sighed and leaned back, Newton was cowering in a corner, "Some body guard you are." I muttered, shifting my position so I was laid back down on the couch and promptly fell to sleep.

When I woke I sat up slowly, I ached and my head thumped painfully. Bleary eyed, I sat up and looked around. Shane was back asleep in his bed. I groaned softly and stood up, the pain killers had worn off now. Newton came up beside me, and our height's meant I could use him as support. Shanes place was lit by light slanting in through blinds. I walked over and peered out, this must have been an office once. The window overlooked the floor of the old air hanger.

It was around seven O'clock and steady streams of people were arriving, most of them wore black clothes. I squinted, was that _Monica?_ She was wearing a pink florescent top with black jeans and heels, tacky but like strobe light in the darkness. She walked freely in between everyone, smiling and helping everyone out. _Monica helping_ under _Shanes_ rule? That was seriously wrong in so many ways. I made a note to ask someone.

I couldn't fathom why in the world she was here, but from her familiarity with the place I knew she had been here a while. I looked at Shane, no, he definitely wouldn't. I returned to my peeking and saw Dr Mills in the corner of the whole hanger in a small hospital station, head height walls giving a small measure of privacy. I hoped to god he would have pain killers.

With Newton's help I managed to make it downstairs. It was a confusing mass of bodies and equipment, which was mainly bike parts, being hauled, dragged or just abandoned in random places. It was disorienting. I managed to get my bearings and made my way over to Dr. Mills' medical corner. People looked strangely at me but left me to my own devices. They all knew who I was. I had a feeling that most of them left me alone due to Newton, who I was practically riding.

I found Dr Mills in a small hospital. There was a bed in the centre of the space, with sterilised equipment resting on counters on either side of the bed. It was a small space, but big enough. It was bigger than I had first thought. Dr Mills greeted me cheerfully, "Claire, how are you?"

"Got any meds? Headache the size of Katrina."

Dr Mills sighed. I perched in a chair as he routed around a draw to the side, "I should have known you would have had a concussion. Stupid not to think you wouldn't."

"It's okay, a week or two it will all be gone." I reassured him, I was surprised he was beating himself up so bad over it.

"Yes well, it's only a minor one. How have you been? I heard you went to MIT."

I grinned, "There are some things that make me regret leaving Morganville, but MIT made up for them all. I learnt so much there. But that's for another time, Dr Mills, how did you get into this whole mess?"

Dr Mills pulled a chair up next to me, sitting down with his elbows on his knees, "I split up with my wife, she took the kids and left. Gone, drove out of the Origin. That messes people up. I got into the wrong crowd, I may not have been cut out as a divorcee, but I sure as hell could not make it as a drunken hooligan. Shane managed to save my ass from a bar fight, and he asked me to stitch a cut on his shoulder. He took me back to the old base and I stitched and bandaged his group of ruffians up. It made me feel better, helping people, so I asked him if I could stay. I owe him my life for this." He looked around, as if gesturing to the whole experience of being here.

I nodded solemnly. I opened my mouth to speak but someone came in then. A big guy with a bandage on his eye, he faltered when he saw me, "Doc, I'm here for my appointment."

"Ah, Jimmy, take a seat on the bed." Dr Mills stood and walked over to a cabinet pulling out bandages. "This is Claire; you don't need to worry about her. Actually, Claire could you take a look at his eye. I think his retina is damaged but you can never be sure."

"Of course," I stood up and grabbed a small torch from a box of essentials on the counter as Dr Mills unwrapped the bandage. The guy's eye was red and swollen. "Can you look upwards please?" I asked, shinning the light in his eye. I asked him to look all the way around and then stepped back, "Yep, damaged retina. I'm no optician, but I think it will heal perfectly. Although there is a chance your vision will be blurry or otherwise affected."

He nodded, looking at me wearily as if I might suddenly jump forward and attack him. He was assessing me, and I didn't like it. I glared and sat back down, resting my head in my hands to try and ease the nagging ache in my back and neck. I wish there was a spa somewhere around.

Dr Mills bandaged him back up and let him go. He sat back down with a sigh, "There's always something to do. Keeps me busy."

"No holidays?" I joked. I think I sounded bitter because Dr Mills sighed and leaned back forward.

"Claire, I'm going to tell you something that's going to be hard to swallow. Shane is like a God to these people, they follow him unquestioningly and they will risk their lives for him. Everyone knows that you broke his heart, and most people here aren't from the Origin, they've heard that you were a bitch and you slept behind his back and treated him like shit. Mostly, this is coming from Monica."

"Yeah, why is she here?" I asked.

Dr Mills sighed, "I remember when she first came here. We had already settled here, and Shane had gone out on a pick up. When he dragged her onto the table, she was bitten all over, half drained. There were broken bones and fractures. She was half dead. Shane kept her around because it would basically be killing her to make her leave, and she knew a lot about Bishop.

"When vampirism went global she ended up on the wrong side, and Bishop dragged her along, moving too quick for her to change alliances. So instead she decided to become more than an underdog, and she did what she had to. She eventually got Bishops attention, and her being her she annoyed him. He bit her and hit her, then left her for the others. She managed to get out before she died, though took a few hits when she did. She ran into Shane's patrol car. He took pity and brought her to me."

I sat back, digesting all of the information. Finally I breathed deeply, "Okay, so what does she do now?"

"Just keeps moral up."

I raised my eye brows at that, "I wonder how."

Dr Mills was already shaking his head, "Bishop set her in her place. She's not as...Monica now. Plus, she's in love so she doesn't have eyes for anyone else."

I snorted, "Poor bastard, who is it?"

"Shane." Dr Mills said simply. My jaw dropped, and he hurried on speaking, "He doesn't know of course. If he knew he would probably kick her out, and I think she knows that. Just...keep out of her way, okay?"

I shrugged, indifferent. I wouldn't mind seeing this new and improved Monica. I frowned and turned in my seat, "Is that a bell?" The bell had a certain quality to it, and all I could picture in my head was a Victorian town crier in the middle of biker central yelling the time.

"Ah, breakfast is served. Come on, I'll bring some pills and you can take them with some juice, I'll show you where the eatery is." Dr Mills stood and walked out, I followed him.

In my mind's eye I had the bird's eye view of the floor from Shane's room. In the right hand corner, next to the big open doors was Dr Mills' hospital, and below that was a dining area, lots of rows of tables, like in a school but more rough and manly. Below that were the kitchens.

We got to the top and walked through the tables, a lot of people already had food and started and muttered as I passed, was I really that recognisable? Or was it just because I wasn't dressed as a biker?

At the bottom there was a buffet. I joined the line behind Dr Mills and grabbed a bowl, walking over to the cereal and milk. I also filled a glass with water and then waited for Dr Mills to come with his plate of fry up. He led me to an empty table and we sat across from each other. It was a table for six.

"So, how does this all work? Do you all take it in turns to cook or is it allocated to certain people permanently?"

"No, there are permanent chefs. Although if you're one of the under dogs you're on a rooster for dish boy or trash boy."

"Underdog?"

"Any one who's not really got any purpose here. The main underdogs are the lads who live here. There's a big bunker under Shanes place, Monica and a few others have small rooms. They can only fit beds in but it's better than sleeping in the quarters. I'm sure you'll get one since you're staying here for a while. There are around fifteen lads and Monica who wash and clean after every one. Good morning Kiara."

A girl much bigger than Claire sat next to Dr Mills and another person took a place next to me, "Doc Mills," She grunted, clearly still sleepy.

"Claire this is Kiara and Watson." He gestured to them both, and they glared at me, although Watson was making fast friends with Newton. "Kiara, Watson, this is Claire."

Suddenly the other seat next to me was filled with a sleepy looking Shane. Automatically I reached for the hot sauce and he accepted it silently, squeezing the plastic bottle over his bacon. The table was filled with a sleepy silence until I finished and stood, walking over to the water tanks, swishing my bowl out and then filling it with water. I carried it back to table and set it down for Newton to drink.

"Dr Mills have you got-," but he was already passing me the pills.

Dr Mills passed me the packets and I popped the tablets out of the foil packet and swallowed them. Then Monica sat down in the seat opposite to Shane, "Morning Bitch." She said, ignoring everyone else.

"Well you've certainly brightened the mood on this table. Where'd you get the dye for your top, skank central?"

"No." She spat.

"Of course, you wouldn't know where to buy dye. You bought that from the local homeless shelter, your daddy fund isn't available any more is it? And you can't buy your own designer clothes anymore because you have no useful skills."

"Bitch, you can talk. At least I'm no cross dresser, that's a top for the over sixties."

"So Claire-," Dr Mills interrupted as I opened my mouth to snark back. Monica and I glared at each other, "what are you planning to do today."

"Kill Monica."

Shane snorted into his drink, choking on the orange juice. I didn't pay it no mind but the others on the table seemed fascinated. I looked back as Shane; he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, just trying to hide his laughter weakly with coughs.

"You have orange juice coming out of your nose Shane." I commented.

He coughed, "Sorry, it went down the wrong hole."

"That's what she said," said Monica, clearly not believing him in the least.

Was it illegal for Shane to laugh or something? Watson and Kiara were sending me curious glances now.

"Moving on..." hinted Dr Mills.

"Claire, I want you to take a look at Myrnin's machine for me. We've found anomalies and we want to know how to cover them up."

"What is she supposed to do?" Spluttered Kiara, "Trust me Shane, I've tinkered with that beast and it doesn't not follow any sort of guide. Plus, I was there that time when the guy came in the flesh and his mind is _not_ normal. I don't see how she can understand the machine any better than I can."

"Maybe because I was Myrnin's assistant for three years?" I rolled my eyes.

"Kiara is our best mechanic Claire." Dr Mills explained.

"I'll take you down to it soon." Shane carried on as if a whole speech hadn't interrupted him.

I shrugged, feeling slightly out of place. I felt like I had rolled in and completely crushed everyone's single ambitions, stopped plans in their tracks. Static made my hair go on end, and suddenly I knew that Myrnin's machine wasn't what it claims to be.

"Shane, take me now."

"Let me eat, woman, what's the rush?"

"I have a feeling that Myrnin has given you another Ada." I told him.

Shane froze and slowly turned to me, "What?"

But I wasn't paying him any attention; I was looking around the whole room. I froze; in a gap of equipment I saw a face in black and white. It could have been a handsome face, except for the ugly scar that twisted the left side and the ugly snarling expression on his face.

In a deadly calm voice I turned back to the table, "Shane, what happened to Frank?"

**Dun dun duuuuuunnnnn! I feel obliged to say that I am no doctor, and I don't know if you go out during a concussion or not and on another note, I don't know it a retina has to do with an eye or if it can be damaged, but it can be in this land. **

**Question, how do you think Michael and Eve fit into all of this?**

**Next time, Morganvillers.**

**FW ;{D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lovin all the reviews, keep em coming. I'm dodging my other story *guilty face* v_v but that means more chapters for you! *happy face* ^-^ just warning, don't expect the next chapter so fast cuz I'm gunnar torture myself to do the other *cringy face* errr... anyway, here we go, Shane POV...**

Frank Collins deserved the crappiest dad of the year award, I knew that, Claire knew that, heck, even Doc Mills knew that, but it still hurt when I think of him.

I covered the pain and said, "He died when Bishop first rolled into Morganville."

"How and where?" Claire asked ruthlessly.

I glared at her; she must know I'm hurting, Claire always could tell when no one else did. I looked into her honey eyes, no; Claire was, for once, clueless. I sighed, "We were in Myrnin's basement, trying to get away from Bishop, when the roof collapsed."

Claire rolled her eyes, "I need to see Myrnin's machine. Now."

I nodded and stood, the rest of the table followed fascinated. As we walked through the tables, I could see all of my men looking at me carefully and shooting daggers to the small woman behind me. At least they didn't start muttering until I had passed. Poor fools didn't know what they were talking about.

I walked to my apartment, opening the door and jogging up the stairs. I made a mental note to put a lock on the door. In my room I went to my bed, pressing my shin into the frame causing it to slide to the other side of the room. I looked behind me as an afterthought; it was still just those from our table. These were some of the only people I could fully trust out of all my men, unfortunately, one of them was Monica.

I should have checked who had followed before I moved my bed. Before I got Claire, I would have done. I mentally cursed myself, I was already returning to the care free Shane I had been back then. I turned back to the wall, pushing the centre of the wall, hard. As if two rips had been made in the wall, a panel slid back. Using the palms of my hands, I walked the wall upwards once it had clicked into place, moving one hand under the other and pushing upwards.

The wall slid upwards until there was a soft click, and then there was just a door shaped gap in the wall. Behind me at my shoulder, Claire said, "Clever, keeping the light in your room basically nonexistent. Stops people noticing the cracks in the wall."

I could have purred I was so happy. Instead I clenched my fists, _doesn't matter Collins. _Without commenting I walked into the room and turned the light on. There, in the middle of the stark naked room, was Myrnin's machine. It hissed and bubbled and a small jet of steam piped up from one of pipe joints. It was a confusing mass of random pipes, springs, wires and metal.

I looked at Claire, expecting her to be shocked or surprised. Instead she looked pissed, "Frank," She said, "Show yourself."

"Claire, are you okay? I just told you my dad is dead," I said, not pleased at all she had brought him up at all.

"It might be the bang," Doc Mills agreed.

"She's not crazy or delusional Shane." I froze, and then slowly turned. There was Frank Collins, stood, arms crossed, in front of Myrnin's Machine.

Well, not stood per se, he more hovered. And it wasn't quite him, I could see the machine through him, and he was black and white. And was it me, or did he speak through my radio?

Frank sighed, "I was wondering when you'd show up," he told Claire, "Myrnin went crazy when you left, didn't oil me for _months_. Then I finally convince him to give me to Shane to only find he blocks me from showing myself to people by my own will."

Claire rolled her eyes, "Well, it's your own fault for not trying to get along with him the first place!"

"He put my brain in a jar! How was I supposed to like the guy?" Frank cried.

I held up my hands, "Wait a moment; Myrnin put your brain in a jar?"

"Shane, you left a dead vampires body in his basement, what else did you expect Myrnin to do, burn it?" Claire asked rhetorically as she turned back to Frank, "Let's see you then."

A few hisses and a panel popped open, my jaw dropped open. It had taken Kiara _months_ to figure out how to open that. Claire just demands and it pops open. That was more than impressive, that was...hot. I shook my head slightly, ridding of my horny thoughts. On the other side of the room, Frank smirked at me.

I glared, "All these years?" I asked him.

"What the hell?" Claire interrupted Franks answer incredulously.

I wondered over, the rest following, but Frank rushed Kiara, "You stay away! You messed my wires up so bad I could barely speak!"

I walked around him to Claire, completely ignoring him. In the confusing mass of wires, springs and _bazooka tube_ were colourful post it notes with Kiara's scrawl all over them.

Behind me, Kiara wistfully said, "I needed to make sense of it!"

Claire shook her head as if she were in pain, "This is bad. Really, _really _bad."

"Tell me about it." Frank sighed.

"What do you need?" I asked, "It's vital we get Frank up and running at his top again."

Claire waved vaguely, "A tool box so far. I'll find-,"

The radio interrupted her as Rad spoke, "This is Clawer calling Alpha, Clawer out."

Clawer was code for Rad. I picked up the radio off my belt, "Alpha calling Clawer, this better be important we've just made a giant discovery, Alpha out."

"Shane, stop with your macho stuff. I have Rad, and we need to speak. Pretty obvious where this is going, get here now. If you don't show up soon, you know what will happen." The radio went silent and I hung my head.

"Was that Eve?" Claire asked curiously. I looked at her; Claire didn't have fear or suspicion in her eyes. But then again, she did say she left the right gossip rings a while back. She didn't know, Claire didn't know what Eve had become.

"Huh uh," I answered, shuddering at the thought of what Eve might do to Rad.

After a pause, Claire asked, "And why does the fact she's hanging around with Rad matter?"

I looked at her, "Claire, Eve is an assassin, the fact she's holding Rad hostage is something that matters very much."

Claire's eyes bulged, "Eve is an assassin! Hold on, let me-," Claire started to come towards me, reaching towards my radio. For a hot moment, I thought she was reaching for something lower than the radio clipped onto my belt. But then I realised that Claire probably wanted to talk to Eve.

"NO!" Frank roared, "Claire, you're fixing me no matter what, and you're starting now!"

The lights in the room flickered, as if they were backing up Frank's threat. Monica said, "Ooh, flickering lights, so scary."

A zap of electricity shot down from the light over her head and shot her. Her expression was comical, pure shock, and then with a small squeak she sank to the floor.

With an exasperated sigh I turned back to Claire and Frank, who was now hovering next to her, "No, he's right Claire, you need to stay here." I was glad to have the excuse; she wasn't leaving this building until Bishop gave up trying to get her.

I was reminded again of how glad I was that I could protect her from Bishop, and frowned in annoyance at myself. "Do what you have to do," I carried on, "Monica, Kiara, you're staying here. Kiara, help her when you can. Just don't end up like her." I looked pointedly at Monica, who looked totally fried. "Doc Mills, look at her and keep an eye on Claire, we can't have this bump making her mess Frank up. Wretch, you come with me. Bring others, around fifteen. I'll be there in five minutes."

They were all ready acting. I turned back to Frank, "Update me quick."

"I'm not on top at all. The place will still be protected, but I can't keep my eye over everything in the grounds. If someone slips through, I'll be too busy here to notice. But I have the people who can slip through on watch, and I don't think any of them can at the moment. Let the girl work, Shane. Go get Rad, we can't lose him. He's too valuable."

My eyes narrowed, "We?"

"I'm part of this place now Shane." He shook his head exasperated, "Ask Claire about it once she's done with me."

He turned and walked away, fading as he did. I sighed and then saw the lovely gorgeous rump of Claire poking out of a hole in the machine. I shook my head again; I couldn't have Claire so I should get over it. But there were times like this that I couldn't help but admire her.

I cleared my throat, "Claire, I'm going to leave. I just want to warn you," I said as she pulled herself out of the hole and turned around to face me curiously, "There's a chance that we'll be bringing Eve back. If we do...I just want you to brace yourself for what you might see. She's changed a lot."

She nodded, then as I turned to leave she said, "Shane, be careful."

"Always am," I muttered, to low for her to hear though.

Back in my room I grabbed my hands free from its resting spot on my kitchen counter and then clicked it on as I walked down the stairs, saying into it, "This is Alpha calling all pack, I want the location of Rad and Eve found immediately, Alpha out." Then I clicked it onto a private frequency, "Alpha to Wretch, how are we doing? Alpha out."

"This is Wretch to Alpha, cars just being loaded sir. Bikers ready to go. Gun wants a word. Wretch out," I could tell he was nervous. Normally it was Rad who did this sort of job for me, and it was saying something that I was letting him do it.

"Alpha to Wretch, well done Wretch, thanks. Alpha out." I hurried over to the shooting range, which was about the only section of the floor with full sized walls. I walked into the long room, there were stations looking down a track to a target. But at the back was Guns station.

His real name was Arthur, but he loved guns and that was his code name. He stood behind a desk, which was guarded by a cage fence all the way along, wall to wall. Behind the fence and desk, all kinds of guns were on the walls, and taped onto the desk was a three page list of guns that you could ask for to use for the range. He was in charge of all weaponry, whether it was just for the range or for a mission.

"Hi Arthur," I greeted, "Heard you wanted to see me. Make this snappish."

"Yeah sir, yeah, well," Arthur was a big guy, bigger than me. But he spoke as if he were on speed, "I wanted to give you this new gun, sir. Its new sir. Click it, aim, shoot, and boom. Done, gone. Long range and here's your close range, sir. This new ones got an aim laser, but you can only see it through the binocular on top. There sir, wanted to walk you through it, you can go."

I nodded to him, and then walked off, hooking the close range onto my belt and wrapping the big long range across my shoulder. I walked to the garage, there were two cars purring, ready and waiting to speed off. Around them were seven bikes. I clicked the hands free on as I climbed into the passenger side of the first car, "Alpha on, tell me where they are."

"In a warehouse, west side. Sir, I'm not sure if we should..."

"Don't go near," I told the informer, "We want to surprise her. Motorists, you go around the back, get through the roof or top windows if you can, but don't go in the obvious ways." You would think it would be common sense, but on more than one occasion has someone gone up the fire escape. "Cars you're in with me. Sneak side, you only attack on a clear shot and _not to kill_. Only do it on my order or on Wretch's order. Car side, take your cues off me."

We were nearly to the city now. I was only worried that Eve would be watching us near to the warehouse, she worked alone. But who knew where she had surveillance. Besides, Bishop was on our back, I said, "Split now, we need to make this clean and quick. This city isn't our friend today."

As I said that, the bikers broke off either way. We slowed down and I looked through the window at the city. Houses were boarded up and derelict, metal sheets pinned up to cover smashed windows and for protection for those inside. Despite this fact, I wouldn't be surprised if people were living in these dead houses.

As we turned a corner we came up on what looked like a riot, but I knew it was just another random sporadic fight. We stopped, "What should we do?" Asked Jenna, who was my driver.

I sighed, "Break it up."

Beneath us, the engine roared and rubber burned, causing smoke to billow up behind us. The other car joined up in. Next to me, Jenna was smiling wickedly, "Time to bowl a one ten!" As the fighters realised what was going on.

Jenna jerked the gear stick and lifted off the brake, my back slammed against my seat as we sped forward, people diving out of the way and we sped through the street fight. They scattered after that, and those who didn't were quickly broken up by the other car that came after us.

We soon went from the residential areas to an industrial district. The warehouses were silent giants, sleeping for now. As we drove on, a figure dressed in back stood on the end of the corner. With three jabs of his fingers he gave us the final directions to the warehouse, and he stepped back into the shadows.

Jenna parked up and I slid out of the car, looking up at the warehouse. It was more of an old cotton mill than a warehouse. The red brick building looked about five stories high, its old windows separated into square panes; the wooden frames forming a rectangle, a few panes were still intact.

Once everyone was out of the cars the boots were opened and my men armed themselves. Jenna came over to me, "Do you think she knows we're here?"

I glanced up at the building again, the midday sun reflecting the window panes so that we couldn't see through them. I replied calmly, "I think she's watching us now. I just hope we're enough to keep her occupied while the others get Rad."

Jenna nodded her pony tail bobbing. The rest of the guys came up behind me, and we started towards the big empty doorway, the wooden doors that were once here now just rotten and abused stumps clinging desperately to the archway. We walked through the room, alert with our guns ready.

"Sir, third floor, north side," our informant whispered into my ear.

With a quick gesture, we headed silently up the big tile steps, stepping over the cracks and erosion. By the time we circled up to the third floor, my thighs were aching. On the landing, there was a door with warped glass in the pane, and a big number three plastered onto it.

I flattened myself against the door and Jenna pressed herself against me. We nodded to each other and I eased to door open, Jenna's gun aiming through the crack as soon as was possible. I expected bullets, or to hear Eve doing her usual snotty speeches. Nothing.

Jenna nodded at me, giving me the all clear and we walked into the big open room. It was a huge room, I could see all the way to the other side, metal pillars in rows around the room. In the middle of the room, tied to a chair, was Rad. He was gagged and blindfolded, slumped on the chair with his head lolling.

I held up my hand and the rest of the guys stopped. I headed towards him on my own, carefully, testing every step before I took it, my senses on hyper alert. I made my way to Rad without incident.

I stopped, on his chest was a note named _Shane._ I plucked it off him and opened it, there was a title _SKULL BOY_, and underneath that was a small doodle of a skeleton in a suit, with a skull for a head. Underneath that was a note, _Find Skull Boy, find me. It's worth it. _

Jenna stood at my shoulder, reading around me. The rest were untying and waking Rad up. Jenna asked, "What is that?"

"It has Eve written all over it. Skull Boy, probably her own creation."

"Did you just say Skull Boy?" Someone asked me over the radio. It was a voice I didn't know but it sounded familiar.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"Oh," They mumbled, "It's Ken, sir. Ken Viva."

I raised my eye brows as Jenna tried not to laugh, "What do you know about Skull Boy?"

"It's a club sir, in the heart of Vamp Town mind you. I've only seen it once or twice, always tried to avoid it."

"Why?" I asked. A club was something rare; I would die to go to a club. One of the last times I had been to a club was with Claire. My gut tightened as I remembered dancing with her, kissing her, daring her to down five shots in a row. I shivered with want.

"It's strange sir, very half and half. Both Bishop and Amelie go there on a regular basis. The place is packed with their fans and stalkers."

I considered this, "Tell Wretch where it is; I guess were having a night on the town."

I pulled the hands free from my ear and pulled my phone out of my pocket, scrolling down to Doc Mills' number. I dialled, "Hello?" He answered.

"Doc Mills, I'm just calling for an update," I told him, "How is Claire?"

There was a pregnant pause, I smirked at that thought. The smirk disappeared as I realised what I had done, listening as Doc Mills began talking in mute horror, "She's doing well, but it's been almost an hour now and she hasn't had a break or pause. This was what it was like when we were working on the serum, she'll work her fingers down to the bone."

"Uh huh," I replied. I can't believe I just did that, it was how was Claire, not how is her work or her progress, but how is Claire. I am a fool, a fool who is still in love. I sighed in frustration at myself, "Is Monica okay? I need her active for tonight."

"Yeah, electrocution doesn't have too many side effects, just a little shock." Doc Mills was laughing down the phone at his joke.

"Brilliant. Find what you can about a club, it has something to do with Skull Boy, cya later," I hung up and Jenna came running over to me.

"You shouldn't take your hands free off you know. Someone has just found graffiti and he wasn't sure but it sounds like Skull Boy. Little skeleton in a suit." We were already walking down stairs; they were helping Rad down as we passed them. Eve had drugged him and he still wasn't quite in reality.

"Alpha calling informer, where is it? Alpha out," I asked into my hands free.

"Around the back of the warehouse, on the back of some wall," I hopped into the car with Jenna; the guys were already waiting for us.

"Alpha calling bikers, someone take Rad back on their bike. Don't let your guard drop, for all we know Eve is still around, alpha out." Jenna pulled up around the back of the warehouse, and there was Skull Boy, "Stay here."

I hopped out of the car, leaving the door open. I touched the paint and drew back, the white paint could faintly be seen on my fingers, "It's still tacky, painted not too long ago," I said as I walked back to the car, deep in thought, and slid into my seat, closing the door behind me.

"What is it?" Jenna asked apprehension deep in her tone.

I sighed, rubbing my fingers together so that the paint clumped together and rolled off, "A breadcrumb. Everyone keep your eyes peeled, Skull Boy may not want us to go to his house after all."

We drove, slower now, keeping our eyes restless, darting over everything. "There!" Jenna yelled, pointing to a Skull Boy behind a dumpster, "He's pointing that way."

I said, "Everyone, head west, keep loose though, the chances that were heading into a trap is likely. She'll only have one gun; hopefully, she won't be able to get us all if she can't shoot us all as a group."

We followed the trail of Skull Boys carefully. I told everyone the direction to head in, hopefully, we were in a fan, and as soon as she was spotted, we would close in. We were deep in the hunt now, following the scent of our prey.

Finally, Eve led us to a dock. The Skull Boy's became more and more hastily painted. Jenna pulled up to a port as we saw a trail of white paint spatters leading to a docking pier. I got out of the car, following quickly with my long range in my arms.

I rounded a long forgotten crate and then it was just one long pier, a rusting barge moored on one side. The concrete pier was completely empty and clean, and at the very end, stood at the edge, was a woman.

She watched me as I crouched, with my gun pointing to her dead on. Eve's hair was still short, and it whipped all over in the harsh sea breeze. Her dark eyes were empty and emotionless, her lips dry and cracked, and the bottom of her nose, the part that separated the nostrils, was gone.

She watched me point a gun at her, and she didn't care. We were in shouting distance but we didn't speak. I could hear the slap of her leather trench coat as it slapped in the wind. Who knew what she hidden under it?

Finally I shouted, "Eve, why have you led me here?"

Her head tilted to the side, "Why did you come?"

I narrowed my eyes, "You said it would be worth my while."

Eve shrugged, and started to pace, "I have information that you will be interested in."

"About what?" I asked.

Eve shrugged again, "Michael, Bishop. Plus some others you'd be interested in."

"Like who."

Eve grinned wickedly, "Vassily."

I froze, the bastard who got me into this whole mess. I thought it through, I wanted to deal, I wanted to do this. So I asked, "What's the price?"

"I want to talk to Claire. Plus I hear you have good connections. And I want surgery," She pointed to her nose, where bone should be but it just wasn't.

I frowned, "Won't it just... go again?"

Eve sighed dramatically, "When was the last time we saw each other? Two years ago? I've changed."

"Oh you changed alright," The sarcastic comment left my mouth before I could pull it back. I pursed my lips as Eve looked at me curiously. "So," I said, changing the subject, "What are we going to do? You come back with us?"

Eve shrugged, "Something like that."

No, that was it exactly. But if there was one thing I had worked on in my life, it was keeping a corrupted drug abusing Eve away from Claire. I hadn't ever known where Claire was, so instead I hunted Eve so bad sometimes it was all she could do to stay hidden from me. Would I throw that all away just so I could get information I was probably going to get sooner or later?

Heck yes. As if Jenna could read my mind she said, "Shane, we're on a private line. I know that you have this whole protecting thing with Claire, don't worry, that's only because I'm a good face reader," Jenna was, sometimes she could read peoples thoughts and feelings from the tiny twitch on a person's face. "Listen, I think you should take the deal. You're risking Claire, but you will be there to protect her. She won't be on her own with Eve."

With this in mind I relaxed and strapped the gun to my shoulder, nodding to her. Relief crossed her face; she really thought I wasn't going to go through with it. She walked towards me in her clumpy boots and fell in step behind me. As we approached the car guys were coming out of every tiny shaded place where we hadn't seen them a moment before.

"Treader," I told one of my guys who rode with me in the car as he headed towards us, "Hitch a ride with a biker, she's taking your place. She isn't leaving my sight."

He nodded and walked off as I climbed into the passenger seat of the car and Eve climbed into the back. We waited for my other two guys, who sat on either side of Eve automatically, and Jenna started the car. Driving towards home with Eve, and to something I really didn't want to do.

I was taking Eve to Claire. I winced, my greatest fear was that Claire wouldn't grasp that Eve wasn't the same person anymore. She wasn't the girl who was practically a sister to her. Eve wouldn't try to protect Claire; Eve would try and corrupt her. My worst fear was that Eve would before Claire realised how twisted Eve had become.

**So, there you have it. Just a warning, my sister has become addicted to Sims again and it only works on my laptop so updates will come slowly. Thank you all to those who subscribed and those who reviewed, you guys are the best! ;{D **

**So, are we shocked at what sweet Eve has become? Remember super cool amazing readers, this is Out of character. **

**Now we know what's happened to Eve what do we think happened to Mikey? REVEIW!**

**FW :{D **

**P.S. On a completely other note, what did we think of Harry Potter? (He's not spider pig anymore, he's Harry Plopper) Thought it was amazing as usual, though I am upset they didn't make a big deal about those who died :'{( Tonks was my fave and she just faded out in the films. **

**Anyways, till next tyme morganvillers**


	5. Chapter 5

**I did warn you updates would be slow. So anyway, I'm back! And this is what's happened so far...**

**Shane kidnapped Claire because after years of being able to keep hidden Bishop found her, and he wanted to vamp her out and get her to work for him. Monica is in love with Shane. Myrnin gave Shane another Ada, but this time its Franks brain, and no one knew what it was so he was in a really bad shape until Claire figured it out and started to repair him. Eve got Shane to talk to her and they did a deal, Eve (who is an assassin) will tell Shane info he wants to know desperately in exchange for a chat with Claire and reconstructive surgery on her nose. (Drug abuse wears away that bit of your nose, ya know, the bit in between your nostrils?) Shane isn't happy because he's worked hard at keeping Corrupted Eve away from Claire. Oh yeah, and he's admitted to himself he's still in love with Claire.**

**So, that's the story so far... Claires POV**

I was aware, on some level of consciousness, of people coming to me, telling me to stop, telling me to eat and rest, but I couldn't. My mind was buzzing like a hive, my fingers itched, and I was always thinking of things that needed to be done. I needed to replace this wire, screw that bolt, and change the oil. An endless list which I was constantly adding to.

The only person I interacted with was Frank, and that was so I could keep a check on his variables, make sure that there was no risk of failure.

As I worked on him, I began to recognise small differences that Frank had to Ada. Turns out Myrnin had managed to compact him, he was still as powerful as Ada but not as big. He was also transportable. And when I looked at his programming, I recognised the options to block Frank from doing certain things by his own free will. It was how Myrnin had blocked Frank from showing himself to others by his own choice.

Frank called them 'curses.'

"It is a curse," He insisted, "Other people couldn't see me, no matter how hard I tried to make them. It was only broken once you had demanded me to show myself, and that wasn't by my own free will."

Once I was satisfied with Frank's state, I finally stumbled into Shane's apartment. It was empty and Newton was sprawled on his couch, snoring loudly with his paws twitching every now and then. I sighed heavily and turned around jumping up to grab the bottom of the wall that hid the doorway. I was just missing it my a few inches.

I felt rather than heard somebody behind me and froze. Someone reached up and pulled the wall down, it automatically sighed back into place. I turned around, stiff as a board, and came nearly nose to nose with Shane.

He had a different look in his eye, and I knew that he was at his wits end. I backed into the wall and tried to manoeuvre around him, but he just pulled me back, flat against the wall in front of him. His arms made a cage around either side of me.

"Claire, I just want to speak to you, just for a moment," Was it me, or was he pleading?

"Er, sure," I stuttered, unnerved by his close proximity. The last time we had been this close was when he was threatening me with his hand closed around my neck.

Shane sighed heavily, his eyes unfocused. I gave him the moment he needed to collect his thoughts and sort out what he was going to say. "Right," he began, his eyes locking onto mine, "Eve is here, and I've done a deal with her. She's giving me information and I'm letting Doc Mills give her a nose job." I began to interrupt but he held a hand up, stopping me, "She also wants a conversation with you."

I frowned, "This deal doesn't seem too much of an expense on your part."

He looked at me in exasperation, "Claire, I've worked hard to keep Eve away from you all these years."

"Because she's an assassin?"

"Yes, but also because she's a drug addict," He said blankly.

This was food for thought. I had heard rumours about something like this, but I hadn't even paused to think that they were true. When you said 'Eve' I thought of a bubbly girl who was viciously protective, determined, and honest. Eve and drug addict, did not belong in the same sentence.

I sighed, "So, I'll speak to her. Don't worry; I'm not stupid enough to snort some coke."

Shane shook his head, "I just- It's too easy, for me to imagine, Eve, coaxing you to try some. Whether you like it or not Eve has a track record of getting you to try something you wouldn't even consider on your own. Think about all the clothes you wore-,"

"Shane," I snapped, "There's a big difference between getting me in a skirt and getting me to do drugs. It doesn't matter anyway-," I cut myself off; my lack of sleep was affecting my mood.

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter? Of course it does, you trying drugs-,"

"Shane," I cut him off again, "I've fixed Frank, and I'm useless to you now. You don't need to protect me, I've done my bit."

Shanes expression was incredulous, he just shook his head in disbelief, "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" I snapped. If there was one thing I didn't like it was not understanding things.

Before I knew it, Shane had his hands on my hips and was kissing me with ferocity. I gasped and kissed him back. It was hot, passionate and hurried. A collision of lips, tongues and breath.

Shane pulled away and rested his forehead against mine; I was stood in stunned silence. Finally he whispered his voice uneven and rough, "Get some sleep."

I nodded, unable to speak, and he backed away from me. In one swift motion he had dragged the bed back to the centre of the room. I danced out of the way and was suddenly presented with an option. Shane straightened up and looked at me over his shoulder. Shane, next to his bed. Shane, and a bed. Shane, who just kissed me, next to a bed.

I gulped as he linked onto my thoughts. His eyes widened, "Uh, I'll just..."

I nodded and he walked away, towards the stairs. He paused at the top of them and said, "Claire?"

"Yes?" I called, still stood frozen by what happened at the side of the room.

"I-," Shane shook his head, "Get some rest, food and then I'll let Eve talk to you. Thanks for fixing Frank."

And then he was gone.

With a sigh I sank onto his bed, pulling the covers over me and breathing them in deeply. Newton was still snoring on the couch.

**~~World of Chaos~~**

Newton woke me, I was aware of something wet on my face and then realised he was wiping his big slobbery tongue on my cheek.

"Ugh! Newton!" I groaned.

He just made a confused sound. I rolled over and looked at the clock on the bedside table, it was eight O'clock. Of course, Newton was used to me getting up around seven. I was still exhausted; I could feel my heavy eyelids drifting shut. But I had a hollow feeling in my stomach, I was ravenous.

I rolled out of bed and walked to the windows, peeking out. People were still eating breakfast. I looked around the air craft hanger, observing the huge masses of bikers. There was a pit in the centre of the huge place, embers simmering in the bottom of it. Shane was there, surrounded by around fifteen guys. I could see Eve in a black leather trench coat sat on the bench behind Shane, but I couldn't see her clearly because of the crowd. Across from the pit Monica leaned back on a bench watching Eve like a hawk.

I sighed and made my way to the kitchen, weaving through the crowd of bikers with Newton trailing behind me. I filled a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, mushroom and hash browns and then got a bowl of cereal. I sat down on the nearest free table, setting the plate down on the floor for Newton. I knew it wasn't good for him, but it was the best I could come up with for food at the moment. I doubted Shane had dog food with no dogs.

As I began eating my cereal a girl with honey coloured hair tied in a bobble sat across from me. She grinned, and the smile lit up her whole face, "Hi," She said, "I'm Jenna, you must be Claire." I nodded carefully, wondering what the crack was. Newton, who had already wolfed down his breakfast, wandered over to Jenna and she scratched his head and told me, "Shane has asked me to keep an eye on you."

"Has he now?" I asked.

Jenna nodded, which made her pony tail bob up and down, "He doesn't want Eve sneaking off and corrupting you."

I sighed, "Still keeping up with this is he?"

"Mmhm."

"Fine, I'll play along, I suppose," I considered.

Then Shane sat next to me, "I went up and you were gone. I told you to get rest, which meant sleep, not a nap."

"Why, how long was I asleep for?" I asked, it had seemed like a good sleep to me, despite the fact of being woken up by Newton.

"Only three hours," Shane told me.

I shrugged, standing up as I did so, "I can talk to Eve now."

Shane looked at me carefully, and I looked at him properly for the first time since our kiss. That brought up a whole lot of memories. I looked at his lips, then back to his eyes, almost involuntarily.

"Don't worry," I sighed, breaking the growing tension, "I won't do drugs."

Shane followed me to where we dump our dishes with Newton's plate. He said as we walked, "Apparently, she's given up."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I just doubt that it's true."

"Why?"

"You're forgetting I used to be an addict. When you're in as deep as Eve was, there's no truly coming back from that."

I paused at that. It was true; I had forgotten Shane had done drugs. It was before he had met me and whenever it was brought up, he was very vague on the whole thing.

"Well, shouldn't we be supporting her? She needs a reason to stay off them, friends are a good reason."

Shane shook his head, leading me back to his apartment, "Claire, how many times do I have to tell you? She's not the same girl anymore. We aren't her friends anymore. We're just people who she can get things out of."

"Then why bring her here?"

Shane, who was walking into his apartment, turned around. His eyes were full of sudden intensity, "She can give me Vassily."

I froze; Vassily was a vampire I'd vaguely met. He tricked Shane and some other native Morganviller's into drinking vampire blood, which, eventually, split Shane and I up. By the time Shane knew what Vassily had done to him, he was leading a small group of fighters and I had long gone. He hated Vassily with a vengeance.

I nodded and he turned back around heading up the stairs to his apartment. I followed, deep in thought. Shane wasn't the only one who hated Vassily, but I was more interested in Gloriana. I wanted that bitch to _fry_.

I nearly walked into Shane when I got to the top of the stairs. Startled I looked around to see what had made him freeze. I looked around him once I saw that nothing in close proximity was life threatening.

And there, on the bed, was Eve. She was sat on Monica's chest, who was sprawled out on the bed, with a knife to her throat. Eve looked up from her perch and grinned, that was not the grin I remember, "Hey CB!" She called, "Long time no see."

I looked at Eve more closely, "No kidding." Her face was pale, but a pasty pale. Her lips were cracked and covered in small sores where she had chewed them. Her eyes looked sunken in, but she had a white bandage over her nose. She also looked extremely thin and fragile, like a push would snap her in half.

"Been waiting quite a while for our little chat, got here yesterday, where've you been?" She asked. I opened my mouth to answer but I knew I couldn't tell the truth when Shanes hand twitched.

"Oh you know, Ysandre hit me on the head. I've been sleeping."

"Really? Still look kinda sleepy to me," Eve said, squinting more closely at me. Monica's hand shot up, as if she was going to slap Eve on the face. There was a flash of steel and Eve, without taking her eyes off me, slashed Monica's wrist and had the blade back to her throat within a second. Monica managed not to scream, but still whimpered. Blood dripped from the blade and slid down the side of her throat.

I watched this closely and then shifted closer to Shane, so at least half of my body was blocked from view by him. I didn't like Eve's hungry gaze. I gulped, and then finally replied, "Oh you know, been having nightmares."

Eve pouted, "Oh Claire Bear, don't worry, I'm here now." She scrambled off Monica, dropping the blade as if she forgot about it, and came towards me. She outstretched her hands, which were bony and the fingers looked unnaturally long and calloused, but Shane knocked them away and had Eve's back pressed into the nearest kitchen counter and wrapped his hand around her skinny throat. His knuckles went white, but I had the feeling it was from resisting full out strangling her.

"You _don't_," he growled, "_Ever_ pretend with Claire, Eve. _Ever._ She doesn't deserve that, not from you."

I didn't hear Eve's strangled reply because I was running towards Monica. She was sat up now, her face pale and expression sick, looking at the clean cut in her wrist which was pooling blood. Newton was growling and he followed me quickly, his eyes not leaving Shane and Eve.

I grabbed the blade off the bed and Monica flinched, but I only used it to tear a strip out of Shane's bed sheet. I wrapped it around her wrist tightly and I held it in the air, "Keep it high."

"Why?" she asked in a small voice.

I glanced at her, "It slows and limits the amount of blood reaching the cut-,"

"No," She interrupted, "Why are you helping me?"

I recoiled, "Monica, no one deserves to bleed to death. Go, now, find Doc Mills."

"I feel stupid," She moaned.

"Monica!" I snapped, "It doesn't matter, go find Dr Mills, now!"

Flustered she ran towards the stairs, clutching her wrist to her chest. The fight in the kitchen had progressed and Eve and Shane were now grappling, "Monica!" I called, "Hand in the air!"

I just saw it pop back in the air as she hurried back down stairs.

Then I paid attention to the fight as Eve and Shane fell to the floor. I sighed, horrified at the sight. _How could my friends become this?_

"Newton," I swallowed, trying to gulp down the shaking in my voice. "Newton!" I snapped, my voice stronger, a voice able to command a dog with. "Newton, break them up!"

Newton barked, breaking through the suppressed quiet like a gun, and with a snarl he dove onto Shane and Eve, scratching Shanes back. I heard Shane swear and roll to the side, splitting both of them up. Newton snarled and snapped at them both, increasing the gap between them. Eve crab walked backwards and backed into the kitchen counter. Shane backed up, going into a crouch with a bread knife in his hand.

"Okay," I sighed, standing next to the now vicious Newton, "You two _have_ to stop fighting."

"Claire, babe she just-,"

"How dare you after what that pig-,"

"I don't care!" I yelled, vaguely aware that Shane just called me babe, "I don't care!" I screamed, my voice breaking from going so high. I was crying. Hot, wet, angry tears over spilled from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I began to pace, "Childish, vengeful, pathetic," I ranted.

"You!" I rounded on Shane, "You can't do that! You attacked her out of the blue! Why Shane, why?"

I turned on Eve, "And you! What the fuck happened to you Eve? Do you want to know who you are?" Eve looked small and scared, a child on their own, with nowhere to go, "You're Jason!"

She flinched. I could see the tears gathering in her eyes. She started to wring her hands together and she brought her knees to her chest, sharing down at the floor. "Ugh!" I yelled, my voice breaking again, "I can't believe you two!"

I turned, and there, stood in the doorway, were five burly guys, staring open mouthed at me. "What do you want?" I yelled, "I've got enough on my hands babysitting these two. Want me to wipe your arses as well?"

One of them shook his head, backing up, "We thought Alpha needed help."

"Ha!" I yelled, "The only help he fucking needs is a smack upside the head! You aren't scary you know," I said, turning back to Shane and Eve. "I _pity_ you. Neither of you can control your violence, you aren't nearly as all powerful and mysterious either of you think you are. When I look at you," I said, snarling at Eve, "I see a girl who makes herself sick because of the fact she's a drug addict and she murders people because she doesn't want people to label her as a druggy.

"And you. I see a dead man, who replaced his heart with a role that made him feel good about himself because he ripped his own heart out and it was the worst fuck up of his life. Call me when you both get a grip."

I walked out, the guys who had run to help Shane parted as I passed. I stormed down the stairs, slammed the door on my way out and walked to the nearest exit sign I saw. Outside was a wasteland dessert, low scrub grew in the hard, sun baked earth. I turned around and looked over the horizon; I could just see the city reaching towards the sky from here. I headed towards it, my feet moving with my fury. I walked for around three minutes then stopped.

I was still breathing heavily, my fists were still clenched in fury and I still wanted to kill Shane and Eve. I felt betrayed and disappointed in them. But I had to think logically, I had to think through all my fury and anger.

It was at least fifteen miles to the city. I had no food, no water, and the sun beat mercilessly down on me. Once I reached the city I had nowhere to go. Plus, Newton was still with Shane and Eve. I turned around and looked at the air hanger. The sun shone off the big metal walls almost blinding me. To the side I could hear the roar of life spilling out of the huge open doors.

I had to go back.

I gritted my teeth, I couldn't go back.

Then I grinned, "Frank?"

The sand swirled near me as Frank's apparition appeared before me. His expression was closed off and guarded, "Why did you just break my son's heart?"

"Your son broke his own heart long ago. Now, I want to know, can you make me invisible?"

Frank looked stunned, "I don't know, you're the one who practically rebuilt me yesterday, you tell me."

I pursed my lips, "Fine, can you make people _not _see me?"

"That's brainier. But no." He crossed his arms over his chest, as if that ended the conversation.

"No?"

"No."

"I think no must mean yes, because you are going to help me sneak around this place," I took a threatening step towards him.

"Not until you apologise to my son." Now he jutted his chin out defiantly.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" I gasped.

"You heard me, apologise. He was only trying to protect you."

My shoulders sank, "Frank, Shane doesn't love me anymore. He doesn't want to protect me anymore."

Frank considered this, and then he said, "Maybe, but he _needs _to."

I rolled my eyes, "Forget it."

I turned around, considering the city in the distance. It was a long way away, and I was less than in shape. Frank moved next to me, "What are you doing?"

"Considering how long it will take me to walk to the city," I tapped my chin in mock consideration.

"You won't make it."

I turned to him, "Frank, I don't know about you, but things aren't all they're cracked up to be. There is no one true love or happily ever after. Shane and I broke up _five_ years ago; there is no way he can still be in love with me."

"You know," Frank said, crossing his arms, "People say that you can fall in love at the first sight. Being _in_ love is a mixture of chemicals in your body, and I suppose these fade after a while. But consider this, apart for years, and then when you see each other again than gut wrenching mother fucker called love hits your bollocks like a heavy weight champion again."

"Bullshit, Frank. Shane isn't in love with me." My heart was racing, and I couldn't help but consider the possibility.

Frank shook his head, "And you called Shane dead. Do you feel at all Claire or are you wired like a machine?"

"Fuck off Frank."

"No. I'm going to hammer this into you're tiny little head until you get it! Shane-is-in-love-with-you! You don't know what he was like Claire, before he got you back. Now he has, he's started to wake up again, to _breathe_ again. No matter what Claire, I'm not letting my son fall back into depression again."

I froze, "Shane was depressed?"

Frank shrugged, "He didn't know he was, but anyone who knew him back in Morganville can tell. That's why Eve wants to speak to you. God, you were lucky Claire, that you left when you did, or you'd be either dead or even more round the twist than the rest of them. Shane-, god I can't believe I'm admitting this, but my son needs you Claire. He need's you like he needs the air around him. You...you are his weakness. And once word starts to get around that the pack leader has a weakness... well, I hope you can run fast, Little Claire."

"Just make me invisible Frank."

Frank grinned at me like a shark, "Don't want to. But...maybe I will portal you to the city."

I froze and frowned at him, "At what cost?"

Frank smiled maliciously at me, "I get to choose where I take you."

I considered it, going through several scenarios and considering how I could deal with them. I pursed my lips, I couldn't stay around here. I couldn't look Shane in the eye after that. And not that Shane's men had been welcoming in the first place, but now they would be downright hostile.

I nodded and Franks face lit up. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and the ground below me started to sink.

"Thanks for fixing me again," called Frank before I fell through the portal at my feet.

I landed with a thud and sprawled out on a hard floor. The breath got knocked out of me and I gasped, taking as much of my new surroundings as I could.

I was on a dark wooden floor, there was dust covering it and I could see the dust bunnies under the wardrobe. Furniture was sparse and metal. I sat up and quickly got to my feet. It was a small room, there was a wardrobe in one corner, a desk, a chair, but other than that it was bare. Except for the pictures.

Covering the walls from floor to ceiling were black and whites of Eve. Everywhere I turned were pictures of Eve, close ups of her face, who she was talking with, her in a crowd. I walked tentatively over to the desk, where the solution photographers used for producing pictures sat still in a shallow large rectangular clear tray.

And resting on the bottom of the tray was a picture of Eve, standing over a vampire and shooting him in the eye.

**And BAM! She got hit by a bus! Lool, jk, but creepy eh? (Say yes, my delicate ego needs praise.)**

**So, Claire has run away from the wolves, leaving Newton with Shane and Eve. She's stumbled into Eve's stalkers house. Franks up and running and is as evil as ever. Claire scared the heebie jeebies out of some of Shane's fellas. And Eve got her nose job! Everybody's happy! Or so furious they're spitting fire.**

**And REVEIW! I may not reply but I do listen! My reviewers give me inspiration like there is no tomorrow! Shout out to all those amazing Morganvillers who reviewed. Those who alerted and favourited my story, you're not **_**as**_** amazing but you're still pretty cool ;{) **

**So...REVEIW!**

**FW :{D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Woo! I love my reviewers, you guys are amazing! So, I've got a new game going. It's called ****Spot the Reference****, and basically, I do a quote or partial quote from a book or film in the chapter, and for those reviewers who get the right book or film get a teaser ;{D In this chapter, it's off a film.**

**The story so far- Shane kidnapped Claire to keep her away from Bishop. Amelie and Bishop are at war. Turns out Myrnin gave Shane Frank the machine before Shane left Morganville, and Frank can repel human and vampires from the garage (The wolves HQ) but there have been anomalies, a few people who he can't repel. Now Claire has fixed him, Frank can also create portals and can do various mind trick abilities (Eg, wipe a person's memory). Druggie Eve got her nose job, but had a fight with Shane before she got her chat with Claire. Claire told them both off and then convinced Frank to portal her to the city, but he portaled her to a real strange place and she doesn't know where she is. Unfortunately, she left Newton behind by accident! That's all you need to know ;{D**

**Shanes POV... P.S. WARNING, FIZZY LEMONADE!**

I was in the shower, hot water pounding on my head and muffling my hearing like cotton wool. Suddenly, something started tickling my back. Startled, I turned around, ready to hit whoever had decided to join me in the shower.

It was Claire. She smiled mischievously at my shocked expression. I was too shocked to move, too shocked to ask why she had come back.

Understanding clouded her eyes. She was suddenly naked as she stepped under the down pour of the showerhead, kissing my chest. I couldn't move, couldn't think. Wait, why couldn't I think?

The thought ran from my mind as Claire bit my erect nipple softly and I moaned. My hands were on her hips and I leaned against the wall as her hand moved down my stomach to my cock.

'Shane,' She whispered, 'I love you.'

My eyes sprung open as a bark ripped my wet dream apart like a knife. I sat up in bed, looking bleary eyed around the room. Suddenly the door slammed open and Monica was framed in the door.

"Shane! Come take care of the goth. I think she's having a fit." Monica turned around on her heels and walked back down the stairs faster than she had come. That was lucky since she didn't notice my morning glory. I bet _that_ would have raised her eyebrows.

I rolled out of bed and went to take a hot shower.

Ten minutes later I walked out of the shower, more relaxed than I had been in a while. Yesterday had been stressful; with Claire's mysterious departure, Frank's unwillingness, and Eve's stubbornness I had slowly been wound tighter and tighter.

I walked to the windows to look out across the floor of the garage. I could see Eve prancing about the place with a big grin plastered across her face. The lads were giving her a wide berth and were looking at her with fear. She had taken the bandages off, and her nose was black and blue but... nicer looking.

I turned around and walked to the fridge, pouring myself a glass of orange juice. I sighed, looking at the orange liquid. It just wasn't _enough_ anymore. I was slowly being worn down, and it was only a matter of time until I couldn't deal anymore.

I leaned against the counter and put my head in my hands, trying to think about where Claire would go. We had looked for her within a twenty mile radius, and unless she had somehow slipped through our naked vision she hadn't walked to the city. There was nothing around other than the city that didn't merit a two day hike, and she had been exhausted as it was.

I heard Newton whine. I looked up at him; he was watching me from the couch, his two front paws on the back of the couch. He watched me with curious triangular eyes, his ears twitching and his tongue dangling from his mouth.

I sighed, "You miss her too?"

Newton muttered and wagged his tail slightly, watching me even more carefully. He was a gorgeous dog, once you got past the size and the teeth. I walked over to the radio, "This is Alpha calling Monica, how about a trip? Alpha out."

"What do you mean, trip?" Monica's reply came back laced with suspicion and caution.

"Alpha calling Monica, Newton needs food, how about going getting some? Alpha out."

Monica snarled back, "Doesn't he have legs? Tell him to go get his own!"

I groaned, "Alpha calling Monica, Newton is Claire's dog, Alpha out."

"Barker calling Alpha, I'll go get him some, Barker out," Jenna said.

I was grateful. I scrubbed my head, "C'mon Newton, let's go get food."

I walked out of the door, Newton trotted at me feet, looking around curiously. He was muttering, as if he had an opinion on everything. I watched him amusedly as I filled my plate with food and walked over to the usual table.

Monica, Eve and Watson were already there along with Doc Mills. Newton greeted him as I sat down, "Well hello there Newton," Doc Mills laughed, patting the dog on the head.

I glared at Eve, "You look like someone's whacked your nose."

She flipped me, "I took the bandages off early."

My shoulders sagged; I shook my head, "Don't blame me when it goes all misshaped."

Eve shrugged, still grinning, "I don't care. At least I have something _to_ get misshaped. So, when are we looking for Claire?"

I chocked on my eggs, glaring at her. Newton had stood up at the mention of his mistress' name, and he was whining and looking around the crowd desperately for any sign of her.

"Where did the 'we' come from?" I growled.

Her grin faded, she looked down at her plate and played with her eggs. She said in a small voice, "Shane, I know this might be hard for you to believe, but I still love Claire. One of the reasons I wanted to talk with her is because I know Claire would never give up on me. And everyone else has. I just needed that support."

I fell silent, not sure what to say. Doc Mills coughed, "You know, I might be able to dig into the archives and look for some medical support."

Eve shook her head, "The turkey is cold, Doc. I don't want anything to do with it, even if it's just a replacement. Thanks though."

I considered Eve while polishing off my eggs. She was right; Claire would have never given up on her. And she hadn't, she'd just been pissed off with us. I wanted to find her, but reasoning it out I knew I shouldn't. Claire would turn up when she wanted to.

For now, I had more pressing matters.

I leant towards Eve, "If you tell me where Vassily is, I'll let you hang around long enough for you get talk to Claire."

Eve's eyes glittered with mistrust, "How can I guarantee that you won't tell me to jog on once I've given him you?"

I leant back in my seat, "I'm going to get Claire back. Maybe not straight away, but I'm going to get her back." I shrugged and cleared my throat. This was the only way I was going to get Eve's information. I looked at her dead on in the eye, "I can't do without her. Not when I've had her back. I need her."

Eve's eyes widened with shock, and then she grinned. "Damn, she's good for you Collins. Now, _Vassily."_

I leant forward, moving my plate out of the way, "Tell me."

"Now, I just want you to understand that this is _my_ revenge as well. He was the one who got me hooked. You know that club called Skull Boy? Well I co-founded it with him when Gloriana ditched him."

I looked at her horrified, "You _co-founded_ with him? You worked with Vassily? Eve you stupid-,"

"I know I know. But he's the best supplier in the whole country. I stayed close to him so that he wouldn't dare give me the crap stuff. It was all I cared about, all I thought about. It helped me forget." She shuddered, "It helped me... enjoy the little things," Eve shrugged and spread her hands, showing me that she was vulnerable.

I sighed and sat back, "Jesus Eve. So basically, once you had a hit you went off with how many guys-,"

Eve shook her head, "I wasn't promiscuous. I didn't enjoy things in that sense, but it helped me like and enjoy killing people. Then when Vassily went dry when his plants were burnt or something, it helped me take my mind off if it. Off the crave..." her eyes went distant for a moment.

"Eve!" I called, snapping her back into reality.

She blinked at me, then once she had come back to reality she carried on, "Yeah, but if it wasn't for Vassily, this would have happened long ago. He's the biggest seller in the city. He's dead, the drug trade flops. I'm probably saving more lives than I've ever killed, you know, by telling you this."

"So where can I find him? Skull Boy?" I asked.

Eve shook her head, "It's a neutral ground. Both Amelie and Bishop go there without fighting. It's a sort of war meeting place, as well as giving a good injection to their fans. Vassily isn't best friends with either of them, so he runs the place remotely and avoids going there at all costs through fear of both of them. But if you hang around there for long enough, his position is _bound_ to appear somewhere."

I frowned, "So what we need is to tap into the phone lines and eavesdrop into the staff meetings?"

Eve nodded, shrugging, "It's a sort of staff game to guess where Vassily is in the city. Generally, the older ones, particularly Tom, gets the places right. He knows half of Vassily's hide outs."

**~~World of Chaos~~**

I reflected that a year ago it would have been a difficult thing for me to resist going into the club. Fang bangers and groupies poured out of the club with the thumping music and flashing lights and onto the paved concrete pavement outside. In the car next to me, Jenna fixed her hair in the side view mirror. In the back, Monica was lounged on the seat, looking out over the crowd as if it was nothing.

"So Girls," I told them, "Tell me again."

Jenna answered immediately, "Go in discretely, I'm a Bishop fan, so I start chatting his crowd up, get intel. I listen out particularly for Claire or info we may be able to use."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Where his cash inflow is, names and places. Also any rumours of his plans," She answered immediately.

I nodded to her and asked, "Monica?"

She rolled her eyes, and then met my gaze in the rear-view with an impatient sigh, "This is ridiculous. I've told you ten times already."

"Just go over it," I insisted.

She flicked her hair over the shoulder, "I'm an Amelie lover. I find out anything I can, shag a few guys, then get out and write what I learnt to revise for a test."

My voice was icy, "This isn't a joke Monica."

She rolled her eyes, settling back into the backseat again, "Obviously."

"You mess up Monica and I'm not saving your ass again, understood? Don't screw up."

She slithered out of the car and walked without a backward glance into the club. Next to me, Jenna muttered, "Jeez, what crawled up _her_-,"

"Jenna, please!" I asked, thumping my head against the headrest of the seat. My mind went over what Doc Mills has been telling me for months now, that Monica was in love with me. I don't believe him, but it sure would explain where Monica's sudden hatred towards me was coming from. She had been sat with us when I basically admitted I was planning to get back with Claire.

"Okay, I'll see you back at the Garage," She said, getting out of the car and wobbling into the club on her platform heels.

I stepped out of the car and locked it, and then moved with the shadows. No one saw me slip into the dark alley next to the club. I looked back over the scene from my new vantage point. There were a few couples kissing against the wall of Skull Boy, and I could see more than two drug deals going on. Across the street, facing Skull Boy, my car sat in the shadows of another alley. I couldn't see it because the shadows are so thick but I knew it was there.

I turned and followed the alley further down. I paused when I saw an open door; it led into the staff room as far as I could see. I pulled my camera out of my pocket and took a quick photo of the room inside. There was a map pinned against the notice board, it was a detailed bird eye view of the city. There were a few colourful pins here and there with names on. I looked for the one labelled Tom and took another photo.

Then I carried on, flashing past the doorway so that no one saw me. Soon a box loomed out of the shadows against the club wall. It was padlocked shut; the padlock was huge and bulky. It was unlocked with a key; I pulled my pick locking kit out and got to work on it. It took me a while because I could hardly see a thing.

With a soft, almost inaudible click, the top of the padlock dropped. I pulled it off and then swung the metal door of the box open. Inside was a mass of wires going to small switches. I found the phone switch and then followed the wires. It split into two and one went straight into the wall while the other travelled upwards.

If I was lucky, the one going to the ground floor would be to the bar. I tapped into the one upstairs and then closed the box door shut, replacing the padlock and then walking away. If it worked, then we would be able to listen into the conversations that went on the phone in the office, or what I hoped was the office.

When I was back in the car I pulled my mobile out and phoned Kiara.

She answered on the third ring, "Hey boss."

"Kiara, I've tapped into what I hope is the office phone wire. Are you getting anything?" I asked her.

"Hang on..." She muttered. I heard the clicking of a mouse and the software sounds of the computer in the background, "Yeah, you tapped into a phone line. Can't tell if it's the office phone or not until we get a call. I'll keep my eye on it."

"Thanks Kiara," I said, hanging up the phone and shoving it in my pocket. I started the car and backed out of the alley, coming out one street over from Skull Boy. Jenna and Monica would find their own way back to their own homes.

But I didn't head back to the Garage. Instead I drove to Claire's house and the parked down the street, watching the house to see if she was in there. I wanted her to be in there, I just wanted to see her.

Claire's house was windowless. The door was thick metal and had seven locks on it with a trip wire that you'd stumble over even if you knew it was there. There was a small alley next to it that led to the back garden; I presumed it was where Claire parked her car even though I hadn't seen one last time. The back door was a little less intense with only five locks and a trip wire.

We had gone into extreme research when we found out where she lived. I knew Claire; I knew what she would do to protect what's hers. I had insisted on scanning the few streets and house and garden when we had prepared her extraction. Everyone thought I was being ridiculous, that it until we saw the inactivated mines hidden in her front lawn.

In the end we had scaled her house to her roof and had taken the roof tiles off and found our way through there. I hadn't seen a house like it; it was quite minimalist, with a concrete floor and unpainted walls. But just as it was minimalist, it was high tec. The lights were strips set into the walls, the stairs moved you downwards like an escalator, and you needed the right thumbprint to get through certain doors.

The kitchen had been impressive, the counters plastic and the draws metal. The place was sparsely but still beautifully furnished. It was a haven from the outside world. I didn't know how Claire had gotten everything she needed to make it, but she had.

That was why I was sitting in my car in the dark watching the brick building carefully. Because you didn't give up something you had worked so hard on just because you had been abducted from there.

I don't know how long I sat there for, it must have been hours. I was debating with myself whether I should go and knock when three cars screeched to a stop in front of her house and vampires poured out and pounded up the steps to the front door. The one in the lead leapt to the door, I knew if it was any other house the door would have crumpled like paper when he hit it. Instead the vampire just bounced off leaving an imprint of his face in the metal.

I quietly started my car and put it in gear, watching as they tried to break into the house. They tried to claw their way through the bricks but small bombs set into the stone nearly blew their faces off. The mines activated and threw soil and clumps of grass into the air like confetti, covering everything in a thin layer of dirt.

They eventually got in through the roof, like us. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, watching and waiting. My heart thumped painfully and I was praying to god to let the battered metal door open and Claire come running out.

But as the last vampire clawed the tiles off the roof and went into the house, an eerie still descended on the scene.

My jaw dropped when the drive disappeared. Literally, a large rectangle of the alley just fell from street level and was replaced with one identical to it. Except there was a sleek midnight blue car resting on top of it.

It was already running, and by the time the drive had settled into place it was spitting up gravel as it accelerated. With a quick turn she was off down the street, driving smoothly and easily, as if she didn't have hordes of vampires on her tail.

I was stunned, still sat gawping at Claire's driveway. We hadn't seen that when we scanned everything. As vampires came leaping out of the roof again and landed on the garden, I cursed myself for my slow reaction. With a sinking feeling in my stomach I realised I had missed my chance to follow Claire.

Once the three cars had took chase after Claire I drove in the opposite direction.

When I drove in through the air hangers gaping doors and parked I was met by Frank's apparition. I had been thinking about it on my way home, and I knew there was only one way Claire could have gotten to the city without us seeing her.

I balled my fists, "You better tell me or I swear I will rip your wires out," I snarled as I got out of the car and faced him.

Frank shifted nervously, "I wouldn't advise it, it's not the smartest move." When I glared at him he put his hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I portaled Claire to the city."

"What?" I exploded, suddenly glad that it was night and everyone had left the Garage. If my men saw me lose control like this they would have started to doubt my ability to lead. I took a deep breath, "Why didn't you tell me Frank?"

Frank shrugged helplessly, "It's a curse. Myrnin programmed me while Claire was still his assistant, I can't deny her. Even if it's not been spoken, if I think she won't want me to I can't do something. I managed to circumvent another option and I ended up portaling her to the city, but I knew she didn't want to talk to you and that meant I couldn't tell you!"

"Jesus," I muttered, starting to pace to try and rid of my extra energy. I asked, "Is Myrnin still in your programming?"

"No, the space cleared when he gave me to you." Then he clicked onto what I was getting at, "Wait? If you replace Myrnin in my programming..."

"I'll override any other commands. Can you do it?" I asked him.

Frank shook his head, "I can't rewrite myself. You'll have to get Claire to do it."

My shoulders sagged, "That may be a problem." I thought about Claire and how she used to stubbornly refuse to do anything she didn't want to.

Frank was already shaking his head, "You can be more persuasive with Claire and you know it. I don't think you should hold back."

I glared at Frank, "Hold back?"

If Frank could have blushed, I think he would have done. He shifted uncomfortably, "I'm part of this place Shane, I see and hear things I don't want to. I uh," He cleared his throat nervously, "I uh, saw your dream this morning."

I recoiled, "Great! I have a peeping tom as a computer. Fan-fucking-_tas _tic!"

"It's not my fault! I have no control; right now I am looking after the fire, watching you, watching three lad's dreams of Monica, one lad's dream of _you_ in the bunkers, looking after the dog-, I am aware of a lot, Shane. In control of a lot, but not nearly enough. Understand?"

I thought about what he said, and then started to ask, "Who's having a dream about-, you know. I don't want to know. Okay, we'll just have work around this. I can deal with this."

"You'll have to," Frank said softly. He paused, and then told me, "Shane, go get some sleep. I've got everything under control."

I shook my head in disbelief but still turned around and walked to my apartment. Fourteen years of beating stuck with you like that, and it's going to take Claire for me to break my habit of obeying my deceased computer dad.

**~~World of Chaos~~**

When I woke up in the morning I could feel the change of not having Claire with me. I opened my eyes and rolled over to look at the ceiling. I felt Newton lick my cheek and turned my head to look at him, he had been sleeping next to me. Somehow, his big fluffy presence comforted me.

I stroked his head and sat up with a dreary sigh. I walked over to the window, looked across the garage floor, poured myself a glass of orange juice. But I didn't see the hectic life of the wolves; I didn't taste the sweet nectar of oranges. It was almost as if I was on autopilot.

I walked down stairs and was immediately met with Jenna, who had a bowl and a large bag of dog food.

"Got it yesterday but Doc Mills had already given him his scraps," She grunted as she lifted the bag and poured the biscuits into the bowl. Newton looked up at me, his tail wagging slightly.

"Go on, eat it," I said, sitting on the bench I had sat on with Monica the first night we had gotten Claire. That night seemed a century ago. Except this time, Jenna sat down next to me as we watched Newton wolf down his food.

"So, how was last night?" She asked politely.

I shrugged, "Went smoothly," Except for the attack on Claire's house. But no one knew about that.

"I think Kiara has some recordings for you," Jenna told me.

I nodded thoughtfully. I sighed, "I need to set up some surveillance at certain points in the city, can you get word around for me and ask people to come and talk to me?"

Jenna nodded. We sat there in silence for a while when she said, "You know, I think that it'll be better once Claire's here."

"Excuse me?" I stuttered.

Jenna watched me carefully, "You were better with her here you know. You acted more as a leader then than I've ever seen you. You aren't as... locked up inside your own head."

I shrugged, "Yeah, well. Best go listen to these recordings."

I stalked off, wandering over to Kiara's stations near the car part of the floor. Had I really acted that different when Claire was around? I hoped I didn't, that's when things started to go wrong. It was true though, I thought, that I was better and stronger with Claire. She always brought out the best in me.

Kiara's station was a room. She built it herself when I asked her to be my chief technician. She had got a few hundred bricks and had made her own little shack. I knocked on the door and walked through when I heard her say, "Come in."

She swivelled in her chair when I walked in. The room was pitch black, only lit by the light off the computer screens and two lamps in the corners.

"Heard you had stuff for me to hear," I said.

"Yeah, here, sit down," She said, dragging the chair towards her. I sat down and Newton lay behind me. I looked at the screens; there was some sort of programme running, with the recording paused half way.

Kiara restarted it, and I leaned back and listened to the phone conversation.

"_Hello, this is the manager of Skull Boy speaking."_

"_Hi, this is Quinn; I want to speak to Vassily."_

"_I don't know a Vassily, I think you have the wrong number."_

"_DON'T HANG UP ON ME! No, no, no, you don't understand. I'm not calling to threaten Vassily, I want to talk to him about a deal we made earlier today."_

"_Where did you get this number?"_

"_That's not important-,"_

"_I asked you, where did you get this number? Mr Vassily keeps his buissness and deals separate. I need to know-,"_

"_Listen here, you don't know. You don't know what I had to do to get this number; you don't know what it's like! Do you know what I used to eat for breakfast? Cocaine. Do you know what I used to eat for lunch? Cocaine. I hope that you have caught on, because what Vassily sold to me today IS NOT COCAINE!"_

"_Calm down, calm down. I'll put you through to him."_

"_What? Why are you disturbing me?"_

"_Mr Vassily, a man you met personally today by the name of Quinn is on the line waiting for you."_

"_Why, what's wrong?"_

"_He said you sold him cocaine but it's not, in actual fact, cocaine."_

"_Jesus what is he the drug detective? Put me through."_

"_Vassily, I want cocaine!"_

"_Yes, yes, calm down."_

"_Listen Vassily, if you don't give me cocaine I will go to Amelie and tell her all of your dealer's names. Trust me, I know all of them."_

"_Calm down, Quinn. Is your line secure?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, I just want cocaine Vassily!"_

"_Okay, I'm at 213 Butler Street. Do you know where that is?"_

"_Yeah, just outside the industrial district."_

"_Yes, how soon can you get there?"_

"_I'll run if it means getting my hands on some."_

"_Good. You have three hours."_

I sat back, considering what I had just heard. Then I asked her, "Do you know if he's still there?"

She shook her head, "I asked Eve about it and she said he usually stays in one place for a few days. There's a good chance he's still there."

"What did he mean, Vassily didn't sell him cocaine?" I asked.

Kiara sighed, "Eve said that because drugs are so hard to grow these days the suppliers mix stuff with the drugs to make it into a bulk product. She said a packet of mixed drugs is called 'impure'. Like, Vassily's been known to mix crushed glass with his supply, or flour or dirt one time. Eve stuck close to Vassily so that he didn't sell her impure stuff. Generally, a packet of Cocaine that Vassily sells is less than ten percent pure."

I whistled low, and then picked up my radio off my belt, "Okay. This is Alpha calling Barker, do you have a volunteer? Alpha out."

"Barker calling Alpha, I'm not that useless, of course I do. Barker out."

"Alpha calling Barker, bring them to the tech shack, Alpha out."

I sat back in my chair and Kiara asked, "What are you planning?"

"I'll ask them to keep an eye on the address and then we'll track him from there."

I felt a grin stretch across my face. Vassily better be a fast runner, because we've got the scent of him now, and the pack was going to close in pretty fast.

**I feel obliged to say that if you have any issues with drug use or whatever, Talk to Frank. **

**I also feel obliged to apologise for the lack of quality in this chapter and the confusing parts, I suffered writers block. I'm only human! And its difficult explaining Frank, you know. He's not a real entity, and it's difficult to say what you're getting at. If you're confused, ask me in a review and I'll answer, I swear it!**

**And for the spot the reference, I think it's pretty obvious but it's surprising how little people get them, so here's a clue: The actor who says the dialogue is Jane Lynch. **

**I'm on twitter WeirdlyFreaky**

**REVEIW! I dare you! **

**FW ;{D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Is it safe to come out yet? *Pokes head out of panic room* Right. I know a lot of peeps wanna kill me right about now, so just calm down. I've just got the new Morganville book and have started writing again. Past few months *shakes head sadly* not good, not good at all, but I'm back... hopefully? I suggest you reread my story, but if you don't want to, here you go;**

**CATCH UP: Bishop's after Claire to make her his pet 'granddaughter'. Shane's still in love with Claire. He's in charge of this big pack of humans who are known as the wolves. Like a biker gang. They hang out in this air hanger during the day; mess up Amelie's and Bishop's plans by night. Most people are either team Bishop or team Amelie. Most of the guys in the wolf pack are Team Amelie. Eve turns out as an ex drug addict, she's just got reconstructive surgery on her nose. She did a deal with Shane; she hands over info on Vassily (the guy Shane blames for his and Claire's break up) for a nose job and a chat with Claire. She got the plastic surgery, not the chat because she slashed Monica (who's in love with Shane but is getting pissed off cuz he's refalling for Claire) s wrist and then had a fight with Shane in his kitchen. Claire shouted bad at them and stormed off, and made Frank portal her to the city (who is another Ada that Myrnin gave Shane and Claire fixed). When she came out of the other side she's in this room and there's loads of pictures of Eve O-o**

**Claire's POV, this is **_**during**_** the last chapter by the way.**

I gasped as I heard a creak outside the door and backed up... fast. I looked for anywhere to hide but before I could the door swung open. I hardened my face and turned to see whose house Frank had dropped me into.

The first thing I saw was the blue eyes and blonde hair. Then the features set in. I gasped.

"Claire?" Michael asked, "Is that you?"

"_Michael?_ Wow you look... different." He did. It wasn't anything specific, still looked the same on the outside except he looked... scared. Like a little kid hiding from the monsters. Nothing like the laid back confident guy I had known.

He shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, the wooden floorboards creaking under his feet, his hands pulling on the bottom of his baggy faded blue t-shirt, "What are you doing here Claire? I thought you were-, I thought you'd disappeared. A run away."

I frowned, "I got out of Morganville, you know why. To get away, not _run_ away," I snapped. I hated the thought of anyone even thinking that I had run away. I suddenly felt traitorous, not to Amelie, but to my friends. Had I ran away and doomed them to this fate? Left them to become heartless, druggies and apparently stalkers?

Michael seemed to shrink in on himself and he looked in the corner of the room, his eyes betraying his fear, "Sorry," he barely whispered.

I cocked my head to the side, "What happened to you after I left Morganville?" I asked, sadness for what had passed replacing my shame and anger, "What happened to all of you? Shane and Eve-,"

"You've seen Eve?" Michael interrupted his eyes suddenly intent on me. His whole body language shifted into something else entirely compared to the self conscious social introvert he seemed to be. It was as if he was suddenly ravenous; he stepped towards me, almost like he was getting ready to pounce, "Where is she? I can't find her anywhere! Have you taken her? TELL ME!"

I took a step back and immediately went into large dog owner mode, "Hey!" I snapped, and then reverted to a soothing tone, "Calm down Michael, I didn't take her."

He blinked and took a step back, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt again, and his attitude once again flipping faster than I could blink. "Sorry, I just-, I don't know what to do," his eyes started to restlessly dart from picture to picture, "I don't know where she is and now... now I don't know what to do."

I frowned, Eve had been at the Garage, what, two days? "Do you follow her around a lot?"

Michael looked at me and glanced at his pictures. It was as if he wasn't even in the room when he was looking at them.

"I follow all of you, but Eve mainly," he stated, like it wasn't a big deal. But it was. "Here," he gestured for me to follow him. I paused, doubting the wisdom of following an apparent stalker, but then dismissed the notion. It was Michael, right?

Outside the Eve room was a corridor. There was a staircase at the side, an open door way at the end of the hall revealing a gleaming white bathroom and two shut doors to my left. Michael opened the nearest one and I walked in after him, curiosity eating away at my eyes. Like the hallway and the other room, the floor boards were a dark grey, almost black, and the walls were a murky looking cream. There was very little light, only a small lamp shoved into the corner of the room to shed light on Michaels stalking exploits.

I walked in after Michael and he rushed across the room, busily occupying himself at a table in the corner of the room messing with big opaque tanks of liquids, I could hear their contents sloshing about as he moved them.

While Michael was distracted I looked around the room curiously; it was mainly pictures Shane, a look of stern concentration on his face with a hands-free in his ear and a gun in his hand. My gut did a little twist at the sight of him. There were always people near him, often Monica. A few times Michael had managed to catch her staring at him with big, love sick eyes. He was completely oblivious to it. So Dr Mills _had_ been right, she was in love with him. The thought made jealousy unfurl in my gut, and I wanted to go back and claim him as mine. All mine.

And then there was a small section of the wall of me. There was one where I was leaving my street, looking over my shoulder. He's followed me everywhere and I hadn't even known. A cafe in the safer part of the city meeting one of NASA's guys, and me meeting with Richard, and he'd even caught me talking to one of the homeless network. I suddenly felt like converting to a paranoid believer.

"So how long has this been going on?" I asked. I was extremely nervous about how to approach the subject. What if he flipped again? Michael seemed unstable to say the least, like all he had been doing these past few years was follow Eve and Shane and I sometimes. And now that he didn't have Eve to follow he was lost.

"With you not long, I only realised you were even in the city a few weeks ago. I started to keep tags on Eve when I found her three years ago. Took up photography. I thought maybe it was a good idea. It makes me feel... better, with her around, even if it is just her picture. Like I did when I lived in Morganville..." Michael drifted off, gazing into space with a small smile on his face.

_O-kay. _

"Michael?" I asked softly. His eyes snapped back to reality and he looked at me with that _look_ that lets you know the vampire in front of you is going to attack. But then his eyes clicked and he looked at me like he didn't even realise that he'd been planning on attacking me.

"Yeah?" he asked, smiling softly.

I narrowed my gaze, theories running through my head. For the moment I decided to leave it for now. "Where am I in the city?"

The light in his eyes dimmed and he looked at the photo that was the first on the stack his hands, but it was too dim for me to see what it was, "Campell Road, near the Business District."

I nodded, "I know where that is. I can get home from here." I was already planning on what needed to be done, thinking about which problems were priorities and what havoc I was going to cause when I hacked into Bishops mainframe.

Michaels gaze flickered to me and his face fell and he looked like he was going to cry, "You're leaving?" He asked, his voice small and his bottom lip trembling slightly.

I shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, "Well, I need to go home. I don't know how long it will be until people come looking for me. And I have things to do; I can't just keep out of this thing now."

He looked crestfallen, "I don't want you to go."

I paused, shifting on my feet. It was clear that Michael was clinging desperately to his old life. I was part of that life. Not a developed photo, but actual flesh and blood. Maybe not exactly the way in his old life, but close enough. He seemed to need that bit of his past, when life was good and happy.

I sighed with resignation, "You want to come with me? Then we can go find Eve, I think she's with Shane." I knew that I was shooting myself in the foot. I didn't know what had happened to Michael but I was pretty sure that bringing him with me was a bad idea. But still, he was _Michael_. He was like the big brother that I never had before all of this happened, and I just couldn't turn my back on him. Not after all I've been through with him.

I should have never left Morganville.

Michaels eyes went big, like a rabbit caught in headlights, and he started to pace, tugging his shirt until the neck came down. I thought I caught a glimpse of scars on his chest but he left his shirt alone to shove his hands in his hair and tug before I could make sure, "Oh I don't know Claire I don't know. I've not spoke to her... but it's Eve-,"

"Wait, you've been following her but you've never spoken to her? Why?" I asked incredulously. If I had been in his position and I had found Shane, I wouldn't be able to watch him and not want to talk to him.

He looked at me shocked, and then glanced down at himself. He looked back at me and opened his mouth a few times without saying anything.

I frowned, not sure what was going on. One thing for sure I know is that I didn't want Michael on his own. He seemed frightened at the prospect of being around people but then desperate for company.

"Please Michael," I twitched my mouth, "Please come with me. I've not seen you in years, I don't want to leave you yet, but I have to go." I left out the part that I kind of needed him to. Despite the five year absence of him being in my life, he just felt _normal_. He was acting weird and something was up, but just being around him felt natural and comfortable.

Michael scratched his head, and then slowly nodded. Then he jumped like he'd been stung by a wasp, "Let me get my cameras!"

My eyebrows shot up as he rushed back into Eve's room. I followed him, watching curiously as he opened the metal wardrobe. In it were shelves, and on the shelves different containers with scrawled writing labelling them on one side, and then different camera bodies and lenses on the other.

He grabbed a bag from the bottom shelf and started to put a certain lens with a body and then packed more lenses with it. It was over in a few seconds with him having the speed of a vampire. Once he had his bag packed he slung it over his shoulder gave it a slight adjustment and then looked expectantly at me looking like any other college kid. Or a little boy going on his very first school trip.

"Okay," I sighed, "Wait, what time is it? Have you got a car?"

"It's just gone One, and yeah, why?" He asked, his brows furrowing instantly, then his forehead smoothed, "Oh, right. The sun. Okay then, car it is."

He stood there, the shuffling of his feet the only sound in the room. I sighed, "Where is it?"

"Oh, erm, this way," and he slipped awkwardly past me and jogged down the bare wooden stairs. With a sigh I followed. Down stairs there was a TV and a couch, with a guitar next to it. Worryingly, the guitar looked like it hadn't been played in a while. A thick layer of dust covered the body and somehow, it seemed lost. Michael moved through the house, going through a side door in the kitchen. Reluctantly I followed him into a built in garage. There was a car in the middle of a lot of stuff, almost abandoned, from Morganville.

Michael sighed, "Err Claire?"

"Yeah Michael?" I asked as I started to walk towards the passenger side.

"I can't drive."

I froze, and then spun around to face him, "What do you mean you can't _drive?_"

His shoulders shot up and he started to tug on the bottom of his t-shirt again, his eyes darted to the corner of the room and suddenly his eyes seemed to go out of focus, like he wasn't seeing the cramped dump of his garage anymore, "I-I don't know, I just... can't? I'm sorry Claire!" Tears filled his eyes and he looked at me like his world was falling apart, "I don't want to go! I don't want to! No, DON'T!" His voice rose to a shrill shriek and he started to violently shake his head, whipping it back and forth. Panic rose up in my chest, but I remembered how Myrnin used to be and tried to remain calm on the outside.

"Hey," I crooned, "Hey Michael its okay, its okay. You don't have to come."

He took deep shuddering breaths and whispered, "Don't make me," over and over again, "Please don't make me." He seemed terrified, and I felt ugly, like a monster that scared because it didn't know what else to do. Or someone that was delivering news that I was going to torture him in a week's time.

"I'm not going to make you Michael. Don't worry. You don't have to go anywhere-," I started.

Michael's eyes fixed on me, suddenly normal looking, "What are you talking about? Are we going?"

I paused as he walked to the other side of the car, carefully placed his cameras on the back seat and then jumped into the driver's seat. The car started with a wheezy cough, filling the cold dark room with the sound of a running engine and the smell of petrol. I frowned but let it slide, opening the passenger door and sliding inside, buckling up.

We were out of the garage and out on the streets within seconds. Not that I could see much. It was a quiet five minute drive. I was too scared to try and make conversation, Michael resembled a teenager taking their very first driving lesson, new to the concept and shit scared. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and looked around with scared eyes, turning the car slowly, cautiously. It was a long drive.

Eventually we rolled to a stop, "We're here."

I took a deep breath, "I'll be _one_ second, I just want to get my bag and are you okay going to a... friend's house?"

"Sure," Michael smiled tightly at me, and it was obvious that it wasn't okay. It wasn't okay at all. I sighed, seeing no other option, and quickly got out of the car and onto the pavement. I assessed my town house carefully, it didn't look like the security had been activated, and that was good. It meant that once I had been taken, no one had tried to get in.

I ran across the front lawn and opened the door, not needing to open the seven locks or care about the trip wire. I was scared to leave Michael on his own, even if he was still in my line of sight. There was a shelf near the front door; on it was a back pack. I grabbed it and then ran outside; shutting the door and hearing the locks automatically slide into place.

I ran back towards the car and hopped in. Michael looked over at me, timid curiosity on his face.

"What's in there?" He asked looking at my back pack carefully, as if he was scared it might be a Jack-in-the-Box in disguise.

I opened the zipper and pulled out a gun, not too big to be classed as a heavy weapon but not small enough to be a hand gun. On the top of the gun there was a small screen, around the size of a sat nav screen. I touched it and a menu popped open. I clicked a few times and then a bigger screen, this time the size of a computer screen, appeared between two antennae that extended out of the gun.

"What does it do?" Michael asked.

"It's a weapon. Doesn't kill, not unless it's on the right setting. Usually it reverts to knocking people out. But it's also a portable computer," I said.

A cool male voice filled the car, "Good evening, Miss Claire, how can I be of service to you?"

"Hello Steve," I said, "I want you to find Gloriana. She'll be high profile. If she's not in the city find next of kin when it concerns Vassily. Also, why you're doing this, please can you over ride the cars system?"

"Yes Ma'am, and can I interest with you with the fact that there is a high security alert concerning you that has been issued two minutes and fifty one-two seconds ago?" He informed.

"Yes you can but leave it for now," I said, "Start driving, avoid patrolling vehicles please."

"As you wish," he replied as the car started once more, much more smoothly this time, and the gear stick moved automatically. Michael jerked back in his seat, his eyes glued to it.

"That will be all Steve. Michael it's okay, it's only Steve. You didn't seem comfortable driving," I looked away from the screen, where I was half way through a hack of Bishops wireless network, and glanced at him. He was looking fearful.

"I'm," he visibly swallowed, "I'm going to sit in the back."

He slid between the two front seats and carefully set his bag to the side and sat forwards , "So, who is Steve?" He asked.

"Yes Ma'am?" Steve asked.

"Silent Steve, listen in context please," I asked, "_Steve_ is a CMS that I created. A computer mimicking system. He's got a personality, a voice, almost like a person, but he is a programme primarily designed to assist me in the lab. At first he was just a few basic tools, an extra hand, literally, and he helped me. Then I expanded that to a security system and a... do you remember Ada?" I asked.

In the back seat, Michael shivered, "Yes."

"He is a more sophisticated and personalised version of her. Except instead of watching over a town or a territory, he is based around a being, that being me-," I stared to explain.

"Ma'am, I have located the vampire Gloriana, she is currently in England just south of the river Thames. Would you like the most direct route there?" Steve interrupted.

"No, revert to the next of kin," I asked. "So yeah, obviously I've not used an actual brain, hence the _mimic_ part, and it does have its down points, but he can't override me like Ada did. I also can't change an order or take an action if he thinks that it doesn't match up with my past judgement or pattern. So, for example, Steve is able to remove a person's memory. However, I can't do what Myrnin did and take away _everyone's_ memory in a certain area, or my own, if he thinks that I am not in a decent state to make that judgement."

"So where is it taking us?" Michael asked.

"To get an informant."

**~~World of Chaos~~**

I routed around in the bottom of my bag, picking up the gloves and the headset which showed me the computer screen attached to the top of my gun. Except I was more limited to how complicated a code I could put into Steve with the headset. I put both the gloves and the headset on.

With the headset on I could see through the cars tinted windows. The informant, someone who had worked at the gym of Vassily's in Morganville along with having crossed paths with both of them together on different occasions according to a few vampire journals, lived in the other side of the city. It had taken us just over two hours to get there. This was a big city.

Despite it just passing three in the afternoon the sky was already darkening. We couldn't take too long about this. We were deep into the war zone where the ownership of land constantly shifted from Bishop to Amelie and back again. The houses were a wreck, like what I'd imagine London looking like after the Blitz. There were blood stains all over the street and gouges in the road and on the walls the size of fingers where Vampires had fought. It seemed deserted, but I knew that there would be people looking, whoever had this land as theirs for now would be waiting for the other to make a move. They would have watching patrols.

I turned to Michael, "Michael, I'm going to have to override his basic brain functions to get him in the car since I'm not strong enough to carry him and you can't leave the car, so you might... he might struggle when he first gets in the car. Are you prepared for that?" I asked him, looking back. He was hugging his knees, his eyes big and scared and tired like a kid whose been locked up in a car for too long.

"I want to go home," he mumbled, "I don't like it here. It doesn't feel right."

"We'll head back in a sec, I won't be long. Stay in the car." And feeling like his mother I got out of the car, shutting the passenger door after me. I looked around; it was an empty street, most of the houses deserted and derelict.

But the vamp I was looking for wasn't in a house, he was in a basement.

I walked towards the row of dilapidated houses and continued walking, looking for signs of recent entry and exit. Eventually, in front of a house more or less intact, I saw it. A worn down path, a slight print of a shoe, and brown stains that could easily pass for mud, but I knew were blood. Carefully, getting my gun in my hands and setting it on the right settings, I walked inside the house in search for the entrance to the basement.

Part of the ceiling had fallen in, and weak sunlight was the only light source in the room. Other than that it was a sea of gloom and dust. There was a moulding couch, a TV set with a crude looking shelter protecting it from the elements of weather and a small refrigerator half filled with beer bottles, the other half blood. The carpet was rotting and blood stained and the whole place stank of death.

There was a boy on the couch, obviously a vampire. He was bare-chested with bite marks _all_ over him. He looked sunken and dishevelled, and the sight of him cast a memory in my mind's eye.

_A grave yard, feeling cold, so very cold, and vampires. Homeless vampires looking haggard and refusing to take on the modern way of living._ The ones that had mercilessly killed as soon as Ameile and Bishop had finally created a situation that neither of them together could keep control of.

I pulled the trigger. A yellow light, almost like a laser, shot towards him, but he darted out of the way just in time and ran into another room. I followed. This room must have been a kitchen, once upon a time, but now half of the walls were missing and the counters were rotten sagging lumps. There was a huge ant's nest in one mess of a counter, insects crawling everywhere and flies buzzing around.

The vampire was at a metal door, desperately trying to unlock the several big padlocks and chains covering one side of the door. I pulled the trigger and a yellow ball of energy, only half visible, hit him in the back. He froze in midway of grabbing the handle. I tightened my hands on the gun and pointed it at his back.

"Turn around," I commanded.

I could see his muscles working, his body begging him not to obey, but he turned around, straining with everything he had. His jaw was clenched and his face set in panic and anger.

It wasn't the one I was looking for. This vamp was young. I sighed with disappointment and set my gun to stun. There was a whirring noise that filled the half room, like air conditioning, and blue lights began to twirl around the barrel of the gun. The vampire fought against the mind control with all he had, and maybe if he was older he'd have won, but I pressed the trigger, and he hadn't.

A stake made out of dancing blue light shot out of the gun and hit the vampire in the chest, right over the heart. The vampire was flung against the wall next to the door, and then sank to the floor as if he'd been staked.

He had, just psychologically. If he was older, maybe he'd survive.

I walked over to the metal door, made sure that the vampire was out of the way, and then opened the door after taking all of the locks down. Most of them had been undone by the young one. There were stairs, but after the third step down it was pitch black. I could hear a girl screaming and crying.

_Oh god._

I reverted my gun back to mind control, increased the headsets power so that I could see in the dark and then rushed down the steps. I paused at the bottom of the steps, I'd found my vampire alright, and he was raping someone.

I snarled and raised my gun and took aim, "Hey, dick, if I were you I'd stop that."

The vamp raised his head from her neck, where she was thrashing wildly under him. He snarled at me, all fangs, the bottom half of his face was covered in blood. He zoomed towards me, faster than sound, but I'd already shot at him and he collided with the bright ball of yellow energy in one glorious moment. The whole room was lit with a dazzling light, the vampire lit up yellow like some freak show lamp. He froze, one foot on the ground, half way through running mere steps from me. I felt like being sick at the sight of him.

"Get dressed," I snarled, "And release her from her bonds."

The vampire, like the young one fought. Except this one was old, really old. I turned to my gun and turned up the intensity, then reshot him with a mind control bullet with a side dose of holy water. He hissed and snarled but he zipped up and cut the hand cuffs tying the girl to the bed in half. The girl shot up, crying, and ran into the furthest corner, pulling at her hair and doing the best to cover herself.

"Do you have clothes?" I asked her, "Do you have a place to stay?"

She looked at me with horrified eyes, her hands scratching her head and she was rocking back and forth, back and forth, shaking her head. "I don't know who you are, or what you've done to that... that _thing_, but just go. Just leave me alone." She shook her head again and looked away with glassy eyes. I knew to just leave her alone, she'd be better with him gone.

"Don't worry; he's going to suffer. But just in case, if you need help, go to a telephone box and call 101 okay? I'll answer; no one deserves to be alone after this, okay?" I waited for her to nod before saying, "Come on Gerard, up the stairs."

He drifted up the stairs obediently and stood in the doorway as I stepped over the knocked out vamp. "Outside, there's a car waiting. I want you to get in it, and I want you to keep the door open, you're old enough to survive the sun a little while," I smiled cruelly.

He zoomed out of my sight with a puff of air. As soon as he had gone I took a long shuddering breath. My hands were shaking and I wanted to puke up, cry, and go find Shane and ask him to never let that happen to me, ask him to hold me where I know I was safe. That should _never_ happen to _anyone_. I wish that I could help the girl more, take her somewhere, but I was worried about how Michael would react. The last thing she needed was another vampire attacking her. I felt guilty, but I needed to think about Michael.

I took a deep breath and blinked the tears away, then slowly walked to the car. Once back out on the street I stood in front of Gerard, who was sitting in the driver's seat, door wide open and staring straight ahead. I pointed my gun and changed the settings, aiming as the tell tale blue light started to emit from the guns barrel.

But as I shot I was pushed back a few feet and the bolt hit the guy hard. It hit him so hard that with a crunch of metal the seat was forced back as far as it could go, thus hitting Michael in the face. Once he'd gotten over the shock, his eyes filled with tears and he looked down, fiddling with the bottom of his t-shirt, shoulders rising in insecurity.

"Shit, sorry Michael, I forgot to turn the power down, it wasn't meant to be so... well, powerful," I explained, rushing to the car and waiting, maybe hoping that he would look at me. He nodded but didn't look up, and I heard the distinct sound of a snivel. Great, he was crying.

With a sigh, I closed the driver's door shut and walked around to the passenger's seat. This was a very, very long day, and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

**~~World of Chaos~~**

Night had already fallen as the car rounded the corner onto my street and pulled into the drive next to the house. As soon as the car stopped, slowly we started to sink underground; the rest of the drive around the car rising up until it was higher than the windows, showing the metal structure hidden under the layer of gravel. As we smoothly sank down my underground lab was revealed.

It was a city of white, white plastic was everywhere, white painted walls and white metal benches. I think that my mother would be jealous about how clean this place was. As the car lowered the layout of the lab became less distinct. There was my garage, the row of cars at one end along with the workshop where most of the mechanical creating happened. There was not one speck of oil anywhere. After that was a small square structure where I messed with any chemicals, and then there was the testing area. The ceiling of the lab was made of squares of white plastic, softening the harsh lights above them. There were also smaller squares which were tiles dotted seemingly randomly among the lights.

As I stepped out of the car with Michael slowly following, four of the nearest tile covered hatches soundlessly opened and automatic guns dropped out and fixed their barrels straight for his head. I was quite proud that he didn't even realise. I had designed them to be soundless of course, but no vampire had ever come here so I never knew if it worked or not.

A small auto bot rolled over on its wheels, waving merrily at me as it came closer, "Welcome home, Miss Claire," Steve's voice said. Steve could control all of the auto bots here, but he liked to present himself as the very first auto bot I had made.

"Steve, this is Michael, an old friend from Morganville. He's safe," As I said that the guns rolled back into the ceiling as if they were never there, Michael none the wiser.

My garage was big. As I stepped off onto the platform auto bots eased forward, opening the driver door and handling the unconscious Gerard with mechanical disinterest. They carried him to a board and placed him against it, locking his hands and feet down for when he eventually wakes up.

"Give me some status on Gerard please Steve," I asked, standing off to the side and watching as the auto bots moved backwards to make room for the more hospitalised equipment, which moved forwards in their place. The first one, almost like a smaller car washer started. The barrel rolled, and then started to move down on the two poles that were holding it up; as it did a green scanner ran over Gerard. A screen next to the board Gerard was buckled onto lit up, registering his brain activity and body state.

It was low. I'd nearly killed him.

The next couple of machines took blood tests, skin samples and hooked him up to an IV, so that once we woke up he would be compelled to do what I say.

As Michael grabbed his bag of cameras out of the car and came to fidget next to me, the car started and parked itself at the end of the row of my cars.

Michael released his breath, "Wow."

I smiled, "Thanks. Y'know the Glass House inspired me? How it always alerted us and it had a... a presence?"

Michaels eye brows shot up, and for a moment he seemed like... like _Michael_. But then his shoulders were in the air and his pout was back.

I sighed and started walking to the stairs, "This is my lab, where I do most of my physical and experimental work, building weapons and stuff. The board that Gerard's on is what I use to make robots, but it should hold him. This is my mechanical shop and that room over there is where I mess with chemicals don't go in there. And this way is the house," I finished as I reached the stairs. As soon as I hopped onto a step the stairs began to lift me up like an escalator. Michael glanced nervously down, then cautiously stepped on and followed me.

"Upstairs is a lot different than my lab. Whereas that's all white, well you'll see," I said.

The stairs lifted us up to the main corridor. I stepped out onto the concrete floor, my pumps scuffling slightly on the rough floor. The walls were bare plaster, but it was lit up a warm yellow by the lights that ran at my eye level throughout the whole of the house. The ceiling was panelled, like everywhere else in the house. I knew that Steve was carefully watching Michael, especially now that Newton wasn't here. I missed him; it felt strange not having him follow me around.

"What about the-, Gerard?" Michael asked.

I shrugged, "I really didn't mean to hit him that hard. I raised the power of my gun because he was going to break the mind control; I forgot to turn it down when knocking him out. You want anything to eat?" I asked as I put my backpack back onto the shelf near the front door. I repacked my gloves and gun and then zipped it up.

Michael's expression was full of shock and he looked kind of upset, as if he hadn't expected me to raise the issue of blood. I rolled my eyes exasperated, "Not blood obviously, I meant food food. Even though I might have some blood left from my experiment with the blood types and how it linked to a person's essence-."

"No, that's fine. I'm okay thank you," He shook his head, backing up a few steps as if to show how far he would go to refuse blood.

I shrugged, "Well I'm starving." I walked through the living room; there was only a couch facing a TV in the whole huge room, a rug in between them in an attempt to make it a bit warmer. As I walked into the kitchen, the lights under the hard plastic counters flickered and turned on. There was still the knife and vegetables half chopped on the counter from when Shane came to kidnap me, although the vegetables I'd brought out had shrivelled a considerable amount.

I binned them before opening the freezer and looking for food. I decided to go with something simple and easy, pizza. While it cooked I washed the few dishes in the sink and cleaned the bad food out of the fridge. That done I washed my hands and then made my way over to my office after nervously glancing into the living room where Michael was awkwardly stood in a corner.

My 'office' wasn't much, just a small room with a laptop in the middle of the desk. I sat down and moved my mouse; it was still on the page confirming that my message to NASA had sent. I bit my lip, "Steve, turn the TV on. Invite Michael to turn to what he wants."

"Yes Ma'am," he said, and I head the faint noise drift through the kitchen. Then the door swung closed and Steve asked, "Miss?"

"I want you to do brain scans on Michael, I don't know what's wrong, he seems to have some kind of split personality going on. He's changed too much, personality wise in the past five years, and that isn't natural for vamps, even just as recently turned as him. Vampires change slowly personality wise, only a momentous event generally changes qualities and patterns of their behaviour. But him... he's too different. It's not normal. Check him out. But discreetly, okay? He doesn't seem stable," I took a deep breath.

"Yes Miss, I shall do what I can," he said.

I nodded and the door opened again, strains of a music channel coming through from the living room floated through along with the smell of cooked pizza. My stomach gave a loud grumble. I stood and walked back into the kitchen, turning the oven off and pulling the pizza out. I turned around and jumped, Michael was _right there, inches _away from the other side of my pizza_._

"Jeez Mike, don't scare me like that," I breathed, placing the pizza down before I dropped it.

Michaels bottom lip wobbled, "I'm sorry, it's just- no, never mind you're busy-," he turned around and started to walk off.

"Michael," I smiled, "You don't need to be afraid of me you know. You can ask me stuff; I'm not going to stake you."

He turned around and gave me a half hearted smiled, his hands nervously tugging the bottom of his shirt, "I was just wondering... how's Eve?"

I smiled, I should have known, "Take a seat," I said as I took the pizza cutter out of the drawer, "I'm guessing you know about the... addiction?" I glanced at him, noticing how upset he was. He nodded numbly, "Well, she's stopped. She got reconstructive surgery on her nose, it's looking good. By the sounds of it, she's turning herself around."

I pursed my lips from saying more, but Michael must have known there was a bad side to the story. "What happened?" He asked softly.

I sighed and picked up a slice of pizza, biting into it. "She did a deal with Shane. She hands over information for a nose job and a talk with me. Obviously I didn't have any objections. I was supposed to meet her in Shane's apartment but... when we got there." I took a deep breath and sighed, "Shane asked Monica to keep an eye on Eve, I don't know why he did such a dumbass thing-. But anyway, Monica must have pissed off Eve or something, and when we got there Eve had Monica pinned down with a knife to her throat. She slashed Monica's wrist and..." I drifted off, biting my lip as the memory of Eve and Shane _going_ for each other so viciously, like they truly hated each other came back to me.

"What happened Claire?" Michael asked intently.

I sighed, "Nothing much, Eve didn't get hurt but... She was scary Michael. I've never been scared of Eve before but... she had so much _hatred_ in her. For herself and everyone around her. It just... her and Shane started fighting when she came after me. I managed to get my dog to split them up and I was just so angry that I left. I portaled, but the system that I used isn't exactly reliable or anything, that's how I ended up in your house."

I bit my lip, regretting spilling so much, and took another bite of my cooling pizza. Reliving it made me feel miserable. I glanced at Michael, who was picking at his nails and not looking at me.

"Do you still not want to see her?" I asked softly.

He shrugged, "I'm not... I'm not the _man_ she fell in love with, I'm..." he sighed, "_this._"

Now it was my turn to ask, "What happened, Michael?" I paused as I tried to get a bit of bell pepper out of my teeth, stopping when I realised I was trying to make myself stall, "In Morganville, after I left? What happened?"

He gulped, goose bumps pebbling his arms, "When Bishop rolled in he made Vassily kidnap Eve. Everyone was looking for her, trying to find her. When we finally did, she'd been gone a week and... Vassily had her strung out on drugs. We tried to get her off it but, she wasn't the same Claire, she didn't even recognise me. She joined Vassily. Just for something I couldn't give her."

"Drugs," I sucked in a breath.

Michael nodded, "It was theorised Vassily had put something else in the drug, to make her so focused on it, but I don't know. It's never been proven, and we can't know now." He gave a world weary sigh, "She left town, Shane got into that gang, and I was alone. Amelie did her best, probably because Sam wouldn't have wanted me like this, but it didn't work, and she had Bishop trying to kill her all the time. Everyone left me in Morganville."

I shivered, suddenly imagining waking up one morning to everyone gone. Leaving you forgotten and left behind like piece of broken furniture or useless junk.

"Well, I'm back now. If I'd have known this would have happened," I said, gesturing in general the whole situation, "I never would have left. First things first, bring Vassily down. He's going to pay for what he did to Eve and I think personal vengeance should come first."

Michael raised his head slowly to look at me, "How? If he knows he's being hunted..."

I smiled, "Because I ran away from Morganville he'll be underestimating me Michael, and that's where he'll mess up. If there's anything being Amelie's pet slave did, it taught me how to hit where it hurts. We just have to wait until this vampire wakes up. Now I've got some hacking to do, are you sure you'll be fine without any blood?"

Michael shrugged, "Yeah."

"Tell me if you get any cravings; don't want you going all munchy monster on me. Get some sleep Michael, I'll wake you up, don't worry," I smiled at him. I felt better now I had a goal, something to do.

He nodded and said, "Where?"

I gestured for him to follow me and led him through the living room and up the stairs. My house was three floors, four if you count the basement. I led him to the guest bedroom on the first floor and stopped in front of the door.

"Put your thumb on the scanner," I said, gesturing towards the small black square where the door handle usually is. Once he had it down I said, "Steve, allow this thumb print to be a key to this room."

Then the door swung open. I walked in. Unlike downstairs and the corridors, I tried to make the rooms as homely as possible. The room was quite small, a single bed with dark brown covers was shoved into a corner and there were book shelves on the wall above the bed. They were all my books that I'd collected from university and the few fiction that I'd ever read. The walls were a warm green and the carpet a nice beige, neutral but somehow welcoming.

"You know where the kitchen is, the bathroom is just the room next to this one. If you get too cold just ask Steve to turn the heating up. You going to be okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "Thank you, and Claire... What happened between you and Shane... it would have killed me. Inside, what happened. You've done well not letting that break you."

I grimaced as I walked out of the door and looked back at him, "It did break me Michael. I am broken. I just don't let it show."

And with that I closed the door and slowly made my way downstairs.

I walked back into my office and sighed, thinking about that night so very long ago. I'd barely even seen Shane in the past two weeks and I'd gone to find him. He was with his 'friends'. We had a full blown argument in front of them all. He'd broken my heart, said the cruellest things, and even though I'd _known _something was up, it was still Shane saying it. It was everything my insecurities had been screaming at me and I couldn't help but believe what he was saying to me. I'd ran away that same night, tricked the system into letting me go and made sure I couldn't be tracked.

Shane had looked for me, I know that. And I made sure that he never found me.

Breaking out of my reverie I sighed, "Steve, tell me about this alert for me? The one from this afternoon."

"The high security alert? It was activated at Forty Two minutes past One today by Bishop and it concerns all of the vampires under his rule."

I bit my lip, "So he's looking for me. Do you have a source?"

"The information gathered from the hacking earlier on today has revealed that moments before the alert Bishop received a message from Michael Glass, sourcing from outside the house. Since then Michael has sent him three more messages. One outside of Gerard's house, the second when you arrived home and the third a few seconds ago."

Dread and sadness exploded inside of me. The scars on his chest. He'd been caught and turned by Bishop. I don't know how long ago he'd been converted or if it was willing but I was so stupid! I'd been carting my worst enemy around with me all day. I thought of leaving, doing the sensible thing and running now before Michael could deliver me to his master himself, which I was sure he was planning to do at this very moment. But then shame filled me, it was my fault he was in this state in the first place. I had been the first to leave him, and because of that he'd been an easy target for Bishop. That meant that Michael was a trap, for me and for Amelie. But if Michael was a trap, what about Eve? She could have been offered pure drugs by Bishop. Or Shane, but no, Bishop had turned Frank Collins in front of Shane's eyes, Shane would never work for Bishop. That was one of the only things I knew was a fact.

"Right Steve, ready a car, preferably the stealth one. Activate the mines outside as well. We won't have long until they get here. Is Michael still in his room?" I ordered, trying to organise the facts I knew and my thoughts about them.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Knock him out with some gas. What is Gerard's status?" I asked.

"Still unconscious. Expectant to wake up in approximately three hours."

"Get the bots to load the both of them in the car. And send all of my research and hard drives into the vault. I want nothing left except food and finger prints left in this place." I stood up and walked into the living room. The TV was still blaring music.

I ran upstairs and into my room on the second floor. There I changed my clothes into a black suit and gathered up my most needed gadgets. Then I rushed back down stairs, feeling a tad more presentable just in case I was captured. I don't know what was worse, getting caught or getting caught in ripped two day old jeans with a top that had drying pizza stains on it. I was caught behind the pair of auto bots as they carefully manoeuvred Michaels limp body down the last flight of stairs. Once they got onto the ground floor I quickly grabbed my backpack and darted in front of them as I went down into the basement, pausing as a large boom echoed through the house, echoing from the front door. I carried on going when I heard the muffled blasts of the mines kicking in.

I rushed through my lab, happy to see things disappearing into the floor and into the vaults below. On the platform there was a blue car waiting for me, it was a strange combination of casual estate car and off road rally racing. Gerard was already strapped into the passenger seat.

I climbed into the driver's seat and strapped myself into the harness. Outside it looked like your average family car, but inside was a maze of complicated switches and dash boards and the floor was riddled with metal tracks. I glanced behind me, packed into the boot was a turret gun.

"Testing the turret, switch now," I said. The car hummed to life and then my seat moved and changed. It slid back and then twisted on its side, a counterpart came up under me, so that the seat was on my back like a weird turtle shell and I was sat ready to operate the turret gun. The boot of the car opened so that I had a clear shot and I slid further out so that I could shoot at all angles.

The turret was built the same as my gun, so I switched the settings so that it shot bullets to mess with mechanical things rather than vampires brains and then said, "Back to driving." The seat moved back and flipped over again, settling in front of the wheel. I grinned with pride.

"Show me the surveillance," I said before glancing around to see the progress of my lab being locked away.

The windshield flickered and then there were three separate screens showing me the front of the house. There were vampires crawling everywhere. Mud and dust were all over the street, the neighbour's cars and the house, along with bits of brick and debris. By now the vampires were going for the roof.

"Get Michael in the car, now Steve," I snarled as I put the car in gear. Half way across the now pretty empty lab the auto bots started to hurry their pace, nearly dropping Michael as they did. Twenty seconds later the door was open and they were strapping him in.

Once they had him in I was yelling to Steve to get us out of here. The auto bots hurried to get off of the platform as it lifted into the air and swung into place in the now gaping rectangular shaped hole in the drive way. The auto bots waved to us before shutting themselves down as we rose back to ground level.

The front lawn was a disaster and the house was a wreck. I pulled out of the drive, looking over at the destruction, sad that I'd lost my home. I looked forwards as the house appeared in my rear view. There was no going back now, so it was time I came back with a bang. I pressed my foot to the floor and glared at the streets as I sped through them.

It was time to get some revenge.

It was time to piss a few people off.

****World of Chaos****

It was busy, people walked along the sidewalks and rushed by in suits. This was Amelie's district, and across the road from where I was parked was her building. It was a massive fifty floor corporate tower, home to one side of the war. There was a semi circle drive way under the huge shelter, every now and then a heavily tinted car would pull up and the driver would give their keys to one of Amelies vampire valets as they entered the building, nodding to the guards who watched passively from the sides of the doors.

You wouldn't think that less than a half an hour drive away, broken homes and drained bodies lay strewn in the streets, the rubbish left over from a fight.

So my plan had kind of flopped. I didn't have long until Michael was waking up, and he was going to know that I'd found him out. I'd been meaning to dump him in front of Amelie's building, let her deal with the consequences of leaving him behind, and scram. But _of course_ she was going to have guards. The lack of sleep was seriously starting to catch up with me. How could I have possibly not thought of the guards?

I sat back in my car and took a deep breath, tears pricking my eyes. My head pounded from my concussion, the fact I had been sat in various car seats for the past god knows how long was not doing the fact that I have whiplash any good, and my neck and shoulders _hurt_. I just wanted a nice hot bath and a warm bed. Nothing more, nothing less. I was physically and emotionally drained. Every time I thought of that poor girl that I'd left behind in Gerard's basement I wanted to cry my heart out and just give up.

But first I had these two vamps in my car to deal with.

I glared at the guards in front of the doors and muttered, "Fuck it."

I pulled out my phone and dialled Amelie's personal number. It hadn't changed since Morganville. It rang and rang and rang, and I sat there impatiently tapping my nails on my steering wheel. Eventually it went to voice mail.

"Amelie, I've left something outside your building for you. Next time, don't leave people behind like strays, or, like strays, someone will eventually take them in. You better sort this out." I ended the call and then put the car into gear.

"Steve, when I pull the car up, dump Michael out and close the door after him," I snarled, then pressed the accelerator and rushed across to the other side of the street, ignoring the large amount of near collisions as I cut through heavy traffic and into the drive. By the time I had got there cars were piling up on top of each other one after the other, and there was a flicker of fire under one of the bonnets. It was an explosion waiting to happen. Well, shit.

As I pulled up I looked towards the guards and then glanced at where they were moving. Not towards me, but towards the middle door. As I prepared to accelerate away I saw Amelie stood there, framed in the door way, her face a mask of shock. I glared at her before I put the car into gear and zoomed out of there; leaving Michaels body slumped on the curb like a sack of potatoes.

As I sped through the city I quickly glanced at the rear view mirror. All I could see of the car collision behind me was a mass of smoke and fire, people running out of the cloud every now and then. Then like phantoms, cars began to chase after me, trailing smoke from the cloud hovering over the heavy car pileup that I had caused. I frowned as I recognised the car's that had been idling on my lawn as their drivers had ripped their way through my roof. Then more cars joined in with the chase. Three guesses who they belonged to.

I slammed into top gear and began to desperately weave my way through inner city traffic. Only one place to go now, and hopefully Shane and Eve had gotten over their little bicker.

**There, a very long chapter that took me yonks to write! Are you appeased? I've got some of the next chapter already written, and when I say some I don't mean much. **

**Now, just a little (maybe kinda big) explanation, I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work. (Well, I tell myself that to make myself feel better, but really it's more of an OC thing.) I will not be happy until I actually like what I've written, and until I like what I've written there is no way in hell it's going up on any kind of internet. I wrote this chapter like, a week, maybe two weeks ago, but when I was proof reading I didn't like it, so I rewrote it. And observe, I have next to no self motivation. And while I like writing, it takes a lot out of me to hunker down and write a story that follows a plot. And I still get it majorly wrong, (in the first chapter, Claire leaves the house with no shoes on. It is never mentioned again. This I just realise.) And it's little things like that that makes me want to rewrite the whole story. But anyway, I am not a professional writer, but I enjoy writing, and I love contributing to Fandoms, so I'm going to contribute at least half decent stuff and I'm going to enjoy myself while I do. But like I said, I'm not a professional writer and I have a lot of stuff going on, so I don't have much time to write. But trust me, I may take what, eight months to update? But I am not going to-**

**Abandon**

**Adopt**

**Give up**

**On my stories. I love my stories. They are my babies. They are what I share with the world. And they take me ages to write because I want to be proud of them. So there, mini rant/explanation over ;{) **

**And I know, if you actually read that, that you are sick of listening to me right now, but QUESTION: What is a flame? I was thinking, people say they get flamed or have done in the past, and I read every single review but I never read a flame, is it because they cut them out or something? What's the difference between a flame and criticism? Is anything other than, omg i love this story update soon! A flame? Hmm, *le stroke beard* **

**(BTW I don't have a beard X'{))**

**REVIEW!**

**FW :{D**

**TEASER FOR ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY HAVE A BEARD! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Catch up: So Shane kidnapped Claire, he runs this biker gang and he's one of the big fish. Turns out both Amelie and Bishop have been looking for her for ages. Basically there's a war going on, things were tense in Morganville and then Bishop magically appeared and everything went to pot. Luckily, our girl Claire had previously escaped because she had a bad break up with our boy Shane. But then Bishop got Vassily to kidnap Eve and he got her strung out of drugs, and as well as making Shane go off on one on Vamp blood, Claire is basically on his ass now. With Eve off on one, Shane a big player in the war, everyone forgot about Michael, and a couple years back he got turned into a Bishop lover, but no one knew, and Bishop just let him do his thing (aka stalk Eve then Shane then Claire) because he got valuable info that way. BUT he didn't count on Frank (who is a machine and Myrnin gave to Shane who didn't know how to work him so Claire had to fix him.) Frank knew about Michael but couldn't tell anyone because of his 'curses', so instead he portaled Claire into his house and she found his scary stalker pictures and figured something was up, and she figured load of shiz out, and now she's back in business and pissed as hell!**

**Shane's POV**

I couldn't get a decent lie in, not one decent hour. Before I knew it I was sat up in bed, suddenly being awake when I shouldn't be, and then Rad was running up the stairs shouting something about an attack.

I stumbled out of bed, barely comprehending that there was something going on, shoved some jeans and shoes on and ran downstairs with a t-shirt gripped in one hand, still not fully awake and bouncing off the walls on either side of the narrow staircase, Newton hot on my heels.

Down on the shop floor it was like someone had stirred up a hornets' nest. People were rushing about, getting guns and talking in hushed tones. I pulled the shirt over my head, shivering the in the cold air. There was a tense atmosphere about the place, and by the time I had jogged to the big open doors of the air hanger I had fully woken up. The sun wasn't in the right position to glare through the doors yet so I didn't have to squint to see the army of cars heading our way. I felt the blood drain out of my face.

They'd found us.

Suddenly Frank appeared next to me, I tried not to jump, "What's going on?" I demanded.

Frank shook his head, glancing at all the people who had gathered behind me to watch the oncoming slaughter of death that was to be sure to arrive within minutes. Behind the forty plus mass of cars and trucks a giant plume of dust trailed into the cool crisp morning air, the cities sky line looming above that and shining like some horrible beast in the morning sunlight.

"It's not what you think," Frank stated, "They still can't see us. They think that their heading into the dessert, that there's nothing here."

"Then what are they doing?" I demanded to know as I wiped the sleep from my eyes, trying to remain calm.

"The first car, truly look at it Shane," Frank said. Suddenly some binoculars appeared next to me and I thanked whoever it was who was passing them to me before putting them to my eyes and searching.

And I saw it, a midnight blue car barely keeping in front of the huge line of chasing vehicles. I recognised that car.

"It's Claire, they're chasing Claire!" I exclaimed.

"Yes and she's leading them right to us!" Frank snapped, "I can affect them mentally, but I can't put up any form of physical barrier. They'll mow this place down and literally not even know what has hit them."

"Contact her," I snapped, "Tell her to lead them away!"

"Look closer Shane, she can't!" he growled in frustration, "I can't get into her communications either, there's something there blocking me, something unfamiliar."

I bit back a word no one should say in front of their old man, deceased computer or not, and turned around, looking at all the expectant faces. I needed to give orders and I needed to give them now.

"Radio," I held out my hand. One was passed into my palm and I clicked it on, "This is Alpha calling all pack. Everyone get all guns and weapons and arm yourselves. We have wave one arriving in approximately two minutes maybe less. They can't see us, they are not aware of us. This is the plan, when they get in range were going to wipe the invisibility off of the Garage, and hopefully they'll be in shock. Before they can get away we need to take them out. Every single one of them except the blue personalised car in front. Alpha out."

I passed the radio back and took the gun that was handed to me by Guns. He was watching me with bright eyes and there was an excited air about him now. His jaw was moving up and down faster than Claire was travelling as he chewed his gum.

I used my long distance scope on top of the gun to get a better look at Claire's car as it approached. It looked like your average family Merc or BMW but I couldn't recognise the design at all and as I tried to get a look at her, I realised that no one was actually driving. There was someone passed out in the passenger's seat, but I could barely make him out through the information and text that was passing through the windshield, it was almost as if it was a computer screen.

Then I saw a flash of movement at the back of the car and focused on that, then I realised that Claire was hanging out of the boot. I didn't know what she was doing, I couldn't see very well, but occasionally I saw a flash of orangey red light. Every time a light hit one of the cars they seemed to stop, or violently swerve or start to reverse.

And then something happened.

Something dropped from the front of her car and by the time her car had passed over it, the thing was growing, changing and fast. I froze and pulled my face away from my gun as it grew into a light blue transparent wall within half a second, almost like a membrane. It grew fast, really fast, and then started to take shape and surround the hanger like a dome.

I looked back to Claire, she was slowing down, and I realised that the cars that had been chasing her had stopped. There were a few wrecks on the other side of the dome thing, right at the base, almost as if they'd collided with it head on.

Beside me, I heard Frank mutter, "My god."

Claire's car slowly approached the hanger, rolling slowly as if the car itself was tired from the chase. Claire was back in the driver's seat but the boot was still hanging wide open, and what seemed to be a turret gun was suspended limp from the back of the boot.

My eyes were immediately on Claire. She didn't bother coming into the garage, but stopped about twenty yards away from the car port so that she was still in the light of the sun. As I walked over she got out of the car and leaned against it, covered in sweat and exhausted. She looked like crap. There were big circles under her eyes, she seemed thinner and her hair was limp and unmade. As I walked over she sagged against the side of the car, basking in the sunlight which was now filtered by the dome. I could see her chest rapidly rising and falling as she took deep ragged breaths.

No one followed me out, but there was a crowd of people watching from the open door of the hanger.

She was still panting when I stopped a few feet from her.

I don't know why but I was suddenly angry. I was trying god damn it and I wanted her. I wanted her so badly it hurt to look at her. Why didn't she want me anymore, what about me had changed to make her act this way towards me? I'd kissed her sure, but it was just a kiss. They might not mean anything to her anymore. And then here she was, bringing hordes of enemies to _my _doorstep, endangering _my_ people, now that she needed me.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

"What the hell Claire? What. The fuck. Are you doing?" I asked her in all seriousness, "I have people I need to protect, I have a home, I need to protect! What makes you think that you can fucking lead Bishop himself to my fucking doorstep!" I was aware I was literally spitting and I could hear the crunch of dirt as I paced but god damn it, I was upset.

But my men were watching. I couldn't lose control.

Claire looked at me with dead eyes, like she'd just seen and experienced too much. She shook her head, "I can't stay out of it Shane. I had to tell Amelie that she stepped over the line."

I did a double take, "Its Amelie?"

She minutely shook her head, like she didn't have enough energy to shake it properly. She sighed and slowly slid to the ground, and then mumbled something.

I bent down, frowning, "What?"

"It's Bishop as well," She mumbled.

A bark ripped through my haze of anger and Newton came bounding over, tail wagging and tongue licking all the sweat off of her face as soon as it was in range. She jerked and straightened up from where she'd been falling asleep, her eyes roaming around before settling on me. It only took a whimper from her Akita to make her realise he was there.

"Oh hey Newton," she smiled. He barked again and jumped about as if he wanted to play but she winced at the sound.

Suddenly the sound of a car door opening and closing echoed and I straightened up. There was a vamp pelting it for the barrier from the passenger side of the car.

With a groan Claire slowly got to her feet as if she had all the time in the world, pulled a gun out of the driver's side of the car and then aimed and shot. A blue twirling bullet shot towards him and hit him square in the back, stopping him and face planting him into the dirt a distance away from his rescue.

While Claire and I had been talking the vampires behind the barrier had organised themselves. It was mainly humans, big lads carrying guns and looking mean, with the tinted vampire cars off to the side, obviously holding the less sun inclined members of their factions.

There were two clear sides, obviously Amelie and Bishop, and more kept arriving as they glared it out. Brilliant. But at least they were acting like they couldn't see us.

"What's going on Claire?" I demanded to know.

I turned back around to glare at her just in time to see at her eyes droop shut and her knees start to give way, and I just managed to catch her before she hit the ground. "Claire?" I asked, shaking her slightly. She didn't move. She just lay there, limp and sagging in my arms. With a huff I picked her up bridal style.

I swore and jerked my head for some of my men, cursing that I forgot to clip my hands free on, "Secure the perimeter, fetch the vamp and make sure that he's restrained, I don't know quite what she's done yet, but I don't want him getting over or through that dome, if that's even possible. Once you've done that send a message to all of the wolves out in the city and tell them that they'll have to sneak in. Make sure that Rosser is watched and can't slip away, but do it subtly please. And get supplies. Lots of them. The more people here the better, we need to stick together now that they've found us."

"Is that it then sir?" The guy I was issuing orders to asked, "Is this it?"

I looked at him and shook my head, "I don't know."

Kiara came bounding over then, "Sir, you'll never guess the readings on this-,"

"Kiara, for now, I want to know what that thing is." I nodded towards the dome. Her jaw dropped and she looked straight up and around as she realised what she was looking at. "And tell Doc Mills to be at his station," I glanced down at Claire and then Newton, "Come on, let's go wake her up."

As I strode back inside a rota was already being read out to a crowd of people in front of a half built car and people were bussing about, calling their friends and family to get their butt's here now. It was still so early in the morning barely a third of my men were even here, and most didn't even come in on a day to day basis. If I knew the way Bishop and Amelie worked, which I did, I knew that they would be recuperating and reforming at the revelation of Claire's presence. It's what they did in Morganville, gathered their followers at any cost and tried to nab as many as they could of each others, and it would be what they were going to try to do to me. Now that it seemed like Claire was back in the game it changed the rules completely.

But we had to stick together and protect our own and our territory. And I had to figure the hell what was going on. If I knew Claire she would have done stupendously stupid things, thus pissing off if not one then both of the high flying vamps. And by the looks of things she hadn't exactly been taking care of herself in the process, despite the fact that her clothing didn't match her physical state.

By the time I got to Doc Mills station I had formed a plan. First try to get Claire up and running again. He wasn't here yet so I carefully set her on the bed. My eyes couldn't help but drift to her face. She looked so peaceful. Some of her hair had fallen into her face and I carefully brushed it back. Her skin was so soft under my fingertips. She seemed so broken. I just wanted to hold her to me and ask her to be strong, so that she could be by my side while I get everyone through this huge pile of mess she'd gotten us in. I'd done this sort of thing before, moving and relocating, putting up an offensive front. But that was with a lot less people. We'd been in this base for so long now and we'd grown into it so much I didn't know how hard, how difficult it would be to leave without a trace.

"Sir?" Doc Mills broke me out of my reverie.

I turned around to look at him, "Take a look at her, I don't know she just collapsed, I think its exhaustion. And can I borrow your radio?"

"Sure," he pulled it out of his pocket and then turned his attention to Claire, "Go in the corner or something, I need space."

I did as he said and took a seat to the side to the room, briefly closing my eyes to gather my thoughts, arranging them in a list behind my lids. Then I brought the radio to my mouth, "This is Alpha calling pack. The situation is that some of Bishop's and Amelie's forces are outside right now, and growing in number, but they cannot see us nor do they currently know that we are here, even though it is highly possible that they have figured it out by now. Can I have three groups of watchmen on rotation day and night. We need to bring every wolf we can get hold of and get them home; Bishop and Amelie may be trying to track them down to get information or another follower. If you contact them personally, tell them to bring as many supplies as they can. All vehicles will remain packed in case of emergency evac. Please try to remain calm. Make no attempt to contact any of the outsiders until further information is gathered. And please can the Beta Group gather outside of Doc Mills ward please."

I sighed and rested the radio on the floor next to the chair and put my head in my hands. I felt a wet nose nuzzle my hand; Newton had come over to sit next to me.

I sat back and watched as Doc Mills checked out her vitals and breathing and shit. Voices grew outside of the Med Station, and pretty soon he was dragging the screen to cover the entrance. He silently went back to his examination.

"I'm going to have to hook her up to an IV drip, she's exhausted and her body can't cope with spending energy anymore. It's going to be a while until I want her awake, an hour at least," Doc Mills turned towards me, eyes pleading for forgiveness.

I sighed, "Okay, hook her up in my room. Make sure Newton goes with you. Once she's stable write her a note telling her to _stay the hell where she is_ and then set up for a war or something."

"Yes sir," he said, "I'll just wait until you're done out there," he nodded his head towards the other side of the screen.

I nodded; everyone should be here by now.

I stood and walked to the screen, I could already sense the nervous anticipation. I hated going out there without anything new to tell them.

I slipped through the side of the screen and then stood in front of the fifteen or so people. This was the Beta group. They were the people who dealt with the inconsequential stuff that I didn't have time or energy to sort out.

As I looked around I saw a few familiar faces, Monica, Gun's, Watson, Kiara, Jenna, Rad, even Eve had joined the mega group apparently.

I turned to them all and sighed, "From the fact that we aren't all dead yet, I'm presuming that Claire thought of the main problem with Frank, the one thing he apparently can't do. Set up a physical barrier. I'm guessing it's some kind of ward, a protective dome, were going to have to figure out the limitations of it as soon as possible.

"Chef, I want you to prepare for rations, if we can't get out we're going to have to hunker down until we figure out for sure what's going on. I've already said that we need to be ready for an evac at a moment's notice, is that going on? Good. We need patrols watching the outsiders at all times. I want the three groups inside and outside, who knows how many guys here are unsure at the moment. We also need to establish contact outside with the dogs from the pack that aren't at the garage at the moment. If they can't get in here then they'll have to set up a temporary base in the city. Until we get information and evidence, it's all about hunkering down and protecting the pack.

"And if we're attacked, we need to close in on the immediate threat and then get distance. We'll reform in two hours at the fire pit and I'll give you an update to the plans. Eve, Jenna, Kiara and Monica, I need to talk to you girls. Go." I ordered.

The loose ring of people broke and they all went in their different directions, getting the general gist of what they had to do. The four girls came towards me.

"Kiara any news on the dome?" I asked.

She shook her head, eyes wide, "It's definitely a barrier but it's something more than that, it's a sort of electric force. It's definitely mechanical, I know that much. When it was thrown open my instruments went haywire, but then when they calmed down everything was working high performance. And something took over my computer, some kind of foreign programme. It pulled all my files and info before I could blink and _passed them_."

"Passed them?" I asked. Sure I used to be a gamer, but most of that had gone over my head.

"Like an antivirus software, but instead of checking it for destructive viruses, it checked the content and decided if it was a threat or not." She shook her head, "I've never heard of anything that could do that. It's like spell checker, but it makes judgements on content rather than finding mistakes."

I took a deep breath, "And the dome? Can we get through it?"

"I can, and so can a few of the others, but Dave, this guy who's pro Bishop, was all, 'oh screw the pack, I'm going joining the survivors!' and bam, bounced right off the thing." She smirked.

"Okay," I said, processing the info, "Jenna, go get the team and see if they all get through the barriers with their bikes. I want a stealth team. That means breaking off and rolling the bikes far enough into the scrub that the vamp's won't hear the bikes. Get into the city and you know that warehouse where Rad was tied up?" At this I glared at Eve, who had the decency to look sheepish, "Set up a temp base there, and then on the other side of the city in the ruins. Make it discreet."

She nodded and hurried off, already speaking into her ear. I turned to the two girls left, Eve and Monica.

"Eve, I don't want to give up the search for Vassily and I can't help but think he might have a key role in this situation. If we have him we might get more leverage. If I send you out with some of my guys, will you keep them and yourself in check? I can't go out and get him myself any more, I have to stay here. Can I rely on you?" I asked.

Eve tilted her chin up, her black eye from our fight almost glaring at me in the strange light. Her nose was still bruised, but Doc Mills had managed to convince her to let him put splints up it so every time she spoke it sounded like she had a major blocked nose.

"If I have to pick a fight I guess its best I pick yours. I'll work for you, but there better be something in it for me other than revenge," she narrowed her eyes.

I sighed, "How about people who still believe in you? Bring me Vassily and I'll consider helping you out more and setting you up with a decent home in the city, you got that?"

She pursed her lips, her eyes sombre, and then nodded. "Who are the guys?"

"I'll have them ready and briefed in two hours. Get some sleep in one of the bunkers under my place. You're gonna need all the energy you can get," I said, and then turned to Monica and glared at her.

"What did you find about last night?" I asked. She had gone into a club called Skull Boy to dig up dirt on Bishop.

She smiled evilly at me. Oh yeah, she was pissed that her love was unrequited.

She started to speak, using her old bitch tone, "So, Eve is a big part in it, of course Claire is, when has she not been? You're a big bad leader. So that leaves one of the Glass house members unaccounted for. Hmm," She put a finger on her chin, pulling a pout, "I wonder what happened to _Michael_."

I'd thought about Mike a lot. Last time I had seen him was a week before I'd pulled out of Morganville. Myrnin had just given me Frank and I went to Michael to just have a beer and chill. Even back then it's not something I got to do very often.

He'd seemed fine then. But two weeks later when we'd temporarily settled in South Carolina, I'd tried to get in contact with him I couldn't find him. I'd sent people to check on him but he was gone. It was as if he'd disappeared of the face of the earth. I _knew_ he should have tagged along with me.

I glared at Monica's delight of my discomfort, "What do you know?"

For a moment Monica looked regretful, her bitch pose sagged and she sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"He's been stalking you and Claire. Remember when Bishop first came to Morganville, and when he bit vamps they were forced to change sides? Yeah well, Bishop bumped into Michael when he first came to the city three years ago. No, that's not right. _Ysandre_ bumped into Michael." Monica took a deep shuddering breath. But before she could carry on the screen was pulled back and Doc Mill's poked his head out.

"Is it alright if I move her now?" He asked.

"Sure," Monica and I moved to the side, "Monica what are you saying?"

She bit her lip and one hand wrapped around her other arm just above the elbow in a nervous stance.

"Back in Morganville, they were just quick changes. He didn't have the energy or time back then. But he took a few weeks... he tortured him, Shane. Bishop tortured Michael and converted him while he did it. Through the torture, I don't think he really asked for anything, he just did it for sick, perverted pleasure. But by the end of it Michael was devoted to Bishop. Did and told him anything and everything.

"Well a few weeks back Michael found Claire. Michael didn't really want any of Bishop's attention diverting from him so he kept it quiet. Well, when he found out, you can imagine his anger. Every vamp in the club was laughing because Michael had been hanging around Bishop like a love sick little lost sheep. But Bishop said he didn't want to see him, especially after we hacked into their radio and got to Claire first.

"So Michael went back to stalking you and Eve. He's been following us around _everywhere_. But then Eve came here and he panicked. He disappeared yesterday, gone off the radar, just like he did in Morganville. I think Bishops furious, until now Michaels been his dirty little secret, no one knew about him, especially not Amelie. Well when we got to Claire first Bishop had a rant and it all came out. Ever since old boy Mikey's been the talk of the town, front page scandal."

Monica watched me with big fearful eyes while I tried to control my breathing. I felt guilty, Michael had looked out for me when I needed him, got me to where I was now. And where was he, some pet stalker of Bishops, reduced to a low slobbering mess.

"We need to find him," I chocked out, trying to get all the traces of anger in my voice. I didn't do a very good job. I cleared my throat, "He's probably a wealth of information. I bet he could find Vassiliy within seconds. Monica I need you to just do what you do best, go around, keep up morale, pin down anyone who might oppose me. And, Jesus I'm sorry okay? For... for a lot of shit."

Monica gasped, "We're going to hell, Collins actually apologised to a Morrell."

I rolled my eyes, "That's a point, what's your brother up to these days?"

"I'll get him on your side," she said, stalking off and muttering to herself.

One thing at a time. And as my stomach grumbled loudly I decided maybe food was on top of the list for now.

**One of the shortest chapters me thinks, :{/ I want to do the info relay in Claire's POV, if I went past from when she woke up in Shanes POV then this chapter would have been longer than the last! **

**I apologise for any mistakes or confusion, I really couldn't be doin with proof readin V-V **

**REVEIW! I 3 YOU ALL! **

**FW :{) **


	9. Chapter 9

**HAPPY DIAMOND JUBILLIE WEEKEND EVERYONE! (I love having a royal family, bank holidays for the queen's birthday and a four day weekend, its brill!) So I'm British, and everything's happening lately. The Olympic torch is here, there and everywhere, the queen has been on the throne for SIXTY YEARS and the end of the academic year is in sights! I'm probably going to forget about my writing for a while because boozing celebrating and finishing projects are going to the forefront! But hey, at least you won't have to hear me moan.**

**So CATCH UP! Shane kidnapped Claire, there's a three way war between Amelie, Bishop and the wolves (who are under the radar human protectors ect.) The Glass House Gang have been revealed, Shane's a badass leader, Eve is a recovering drug addict (and plastic nose surgery recovering), Michael is Bishop converted stalker, and Claire is pissed off and back in the game. When all this came out Claire ran off, found a Vassily/Gloriana co-worker to get info out of, found Michael and dumped him into Amelie's care to fix, and got both Amelie's and Bishops thugs on her tail. Shane is dealing with this, since Claire brought not one, but TWO armies to his huge, jet engine garage doors. And there's this weird shield thing and everything is in the balance. **

**On with the story...**

I slowly opened my eyes, I felt like hell. My head ached, my body ached and my stomach _hurt_. It was a relief to let my eyes drift close. I was _tired._

_Cold metal under my hands, my arms aching as I hauled it to point in a different direction, the early morning sun already ruthless as it beat down through the boot door window above me. The roar of engines hit my ears like thunder, the wobbling and jerking of the car as it bounced over the rough terrain made it even harder to aim steadily. _

I opened my eyes again and this time looked around. The first time I had seen this room I noticed the dusty peace of neglect, the dark blue walls, the bed sheets that smelt of Shane. I was in the same place again, except this time Shane wasn't there to greet me.

I sighed and tried to sit up, my elbow brushed paper. I frowned and looked down; a blank sheet of paper folded in half with my name on was next to me. I picked it up.

_I don't know WHAT you were thinking Claire Danvers; you've exhausted your body and nearly starved yourself. Your brain can't cope with it anymore! Shane threatened not to move from the bed. He'll come and see you at some point. That shield thing or whatever it is worked, Bishop and Amelie can't get in and their supporters can't get out, if they haven't figured it out that we're here then they don't know. _

_Doc Mills._

I frowned at the paper, shield thing?

"Steve?" I asked.

A whine answered me, and I turned my head to realise Newton was next to me, a big warm fluffy giant. He looked at me with his triangular eyes, his worry seeping through them with a little eye goop in a gooey line down the side of his nose.

"Newton?" I asked.

His tail wagged slightly. I raised my hand to wipe the goop out of his eye and something snagged on my arm. I looked down, some kind of IV drip. It was probably to give my body a kick start, there was very little left in the bag so I ripped it out, the hole in my arm started to bleed immediately.

I sighed, my brain wasn't functioning properly. Was this what it was like for stupid people? Was I living in Monica's head?

I rolled to the side of the bed, my body and head throbbing painfully in protest. Strips of horizontal light shot through the blinds and stabbed my eyes. I groaned and looked down.

I stood slowly to my feet, my head becoming lighter and throbbing harder until the blood returned to the brain, and I stumbled towards the kitchen, remembering Shane had a first aid kit somewhere. It didn't take me long to find it, I'd only ever seen him to going one cupboard and the fridge.

When I reached up to get the plasters blood rushed from down my arm and across my wrist and over the crook of my elbow. I grabbed the box of plasters and smeared the blood from my fingertips trying to open the box all over its lid. Once I'd put a plaster over the hole on the inside of my forearm, and because it was easier, an elbow support over that instead of a bandage, I mopped up my arm and the blood smear on the box. Then without putting them back I walked back towards the bed, collapsing on top of the sheets and clutching one of the pillows, breathing in the scent. I noticed dimly that the sheets were still ripped from when I'd had to use a quick makeshift bandage for Monica.

It felt like I'd only just closed my eyes and breathed deeply before my shoulder was being shaken. I rolled over with a painful groan, sat on the edge of the bed next to me was Shane. Our hips were pressed against each other but we didn't move away. I was too out of it and Shane...

"What have you done Claire?" Shane asked, his dark eyes under the mop of hair on his head were glinting furiously.

I struggled to open my eyes, they felt heavy, and I had to consciously keep them from closing, "They need to pay," I said, but it came out as a mumble, god I was _exhausted_.

"What?" Shane asked.

"They need to pay," I repeated with a yawn.

Shane bent his head closer to mine, "Say it again."

I made a sound of frustration, "Michael, they need to pay for what happened to Michael." Beside me, Shane froze, "He has scars and... he had multiple personalities. I think Bishop was speaking to him in his head or something. He was so scared. They need to pay."

"So you bring them to my doorstep?" Shane demanded, "What were you thinking-,"

"It doesn't matter!" I sang, his anger giving me enough energy to become fully awake for a few precious moments, "It's going to be over soon. I'm going to put an end to it."

I sighed and we sat in silence for a bit more and I started to lull into sleep again, my vision getting darker and darker, Shanes glinting eyes the only thing in focus. But he was shaking my shoulder again, "Claire, Claire you need to stay awake for just a few more moments. That shield, I need to know if it's reliable, I need to know how far it will protect us."

There is was again, the word _shield._ I frowned, "What shield?"

"The shield, that you deployed about a quarter of a mile out of the garage," Shane said his hand lingering on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes, suddenly bombarded with images. Shane stood in front of me bruised and beaten up, his body tense his eyes full of hatred and spitting vicious words into my face. Words that confirmed my worst nightmares.

_He wasn't himself,_ I told myself, _he was being controlled by Gloriana, and he was poisoned with vamp blood._

But still my instincts screamed at me, along with my heart, not to put myself in that risk again. Not to put myself in a position where he could hurt me like that ever again. But the opposite part, the strong part, the physical part hummed off of Shane's proximity. Off of the fact his eyes were on _me_, and that part wanted me to ignore my hurt and logic that was telling me I was being naive, and it wanted me to reach up and yank him on top of me and take him into my heart again.

If he'd ever left it.

_Shanes small smile when he saw how deep his cuts went into my heart, how much they hurt_.

"Claire, what is it, what's wrong?" His voice, now cool and concerned, cut through the bombardment of images that were attacking me.

I gasped, "Shane, let go of me."

His hand left my shoulder and his expression when I opened my eyes was confused and hurt.

"I can't, I'm too tired and confused and I need to figure it out," I sighed, "I've never developed a shield Shane, and nothing on a large enough scale to protect the garage from a quarter mile out especially. I just didn't have the room for testing. Let me think," I said, straining to remember through the pain and sweat the chase had brought down.

I'd been suspended from the open boot door, shooting bullets that messed with the technical equipment in the cars of the vamps. But they'd been gaining. I'd asked Steve to deploy the bomb that would have put all cars in close range out of commission, knowing that the garage had to be close. It would have been open season on vamps for Shane.

I shook my head and sighed, "Shane, I didn't deploy a shield, I deployed a bomb. It should have stopped all of the cars chasing me. I hoped you'd be able to pick them off, because they wouldn't be able to back track through the sun. I don't know what you're on about when you say shield."

Shane snorted, "Well care to explain the giant blue _dome shield_ that we're under?"

I closed my eyes and curled around the pillow I was still clutching, resting my head, "Do you have my back pack? It should have been in the car."

"Your cars untouched half way between the garage and the shield," Shane's voice said.

"The gun," I replied, already losing my energy, "Get me the gun in the bag."

And I was asleep.

If I thought it was bad waking up and it feeling like I'd only just closed my eyes, it was hell dragging myself out of deep unconsciousness. One by one I became aware of my hurts, and someone calling my name.

When I opened my eyes they felt gritty and bloodshot. They fell onto Doc Mills, who was knelt next to my bed with a frown on his face.

It was like ice water poured down my spine. I shot up into a sitting position. _My bed_. This wasn't my bed, it was _Shanes._

And then I started to laugh over the complexity of it all.

I imagine Shane is what it's like to have a bad tooth. A rotting one. Biting down and scratching it with your nail makes it hurt and ache, but you just can't leave it alone. I can't leave Shane alone, it hurts, but it's as if I enjoy the nag of it. It reminds me I can be hurt.

And he's addictive.

I turned to Doc Mills, who was looking over my shoulder. I turned and saw Shane who was stood behind me, tall and looming with a frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Here Claire," Doc Mill's said, retuning my attention to him. He had my backpack in his hands. I grabbed it and then gasped in shock at the weakness on my arms as the practically dropped with the weight of my bag. Doc Mills helped me set it down on my bed next to me.

I opened the zip and pulled the gun out of it, unfolding the little sat-nav sized screen tiredly, my eyes blurring with tiredness as they attempted to focus on the screen.

"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked Doc Mills.

"Not long," He said, "A little over an hour and a half. I wanted to let you sleep longer but this whole shield thing is of vital importance."

"Yeah yeah," I mumbled, switching my gaze to the projection screen that spanned between the antennae that propped out of the gun, "Steve, status."

His voice came out hesitantly, "Ah, hello Miss Claire. Well, I'm not sure, I've tried to override the systems of the new environment but one is, well, fighting back. It keeps sending me, well, the best thing I can describe it as is antibodies, as if it's an immune system Miss, and it isn't half disorienting."

"The shield," said Shane, "Ask him about the shield."

"Good morning Mr Collins," Steve addressed Shane, "the thing you address as 'the shield' is an unexpected occurrence. You see as soon as I directed my attention to our destination once Miss Claire decided what that was, these... these antibodies began to attack me like white blood cells. It is because of this I was unable to fully detonate the bomb. I'm undergoing an internal scan right now, but I can still look into how it had occurred and how it is being sustained if you want."

"We don't know what is sustaining it?" Shane asked, now he had gotten over the fact the talking gun knew his name and was called Steve, "Explain. Now."

"Oooh, he isn't half demanding is he Miss Claire?" Steve said conspiratorially, "The thing that was deployed was a bomb. The outer shell and inner workings are gone now, exploded into debris when I tried to activate it. The original explosive energy which would have interfered with the mechanics of the cars is gone. Replaced by something foreign that I can't identify. My ability to identify peoples intentions, also known as who peoples side are on, is allowing people to pass through the bomb wall unharmed. I have no say in why it's a perfect dome, its shape or form, its supply of energy or what happens when someone or something whose alliance belongs with Bishop interacts with the bomb wall. I can do what I can to sustain the bomb wall, if Miss Claire orders it."

"Yes," I said with a yawn, "Also I want the house evacuated. Everything from the safes, all the furniture, cameras, sensors and guns, I want the auto bots to load them into the cars and the cars to come here, is that clear?"

"Yes Ma'am," Steve replied.

"I also want you to over ride Shanes head set and I want you to aid him if it's in your power without him having to ask. He doesn't know your capabilities," I ordered, "Can I please go to sleep now?"

"You have no theories why this... this Steve thing is going wrong?" Doc Mills asked.

I shook my head, "I'm too tired to think right now, let me sleep and eat. Tomorrow I'll hit hard."

And with that I lay back down and burrowed under Shanes duvet.

When I opened my eyes it was to feel better, with less hurts but an even more painful gnaw in my stomach. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I shivered, it was cold in here. The door to down the steps was open.

I had a visit to the bathroom, which only left me even hungrier. I looked myself in the mirror, I looked like crap. My hair was greasy, I had bags under my eyes, sign that I had been in a really deep sleep, and I could feel dried sweat and grime all over me every time I moved.

I opened the door an looked out of Shanes window, out on the floor the fire was roaring, the big wide doors open letting in a faint blue sheen of light. Despite it being night the garage was full, people slept near the fire on bare mattress with a sleeping bag if they were lucky, if not it was with a sleeping bag on the cold hard floor. To the side in what was still recognisable as the shooting range even in the gloomy dark a group of people were lit by a few lamps.

A mechanical buzz hit my ears and I turned around and saw one of my auto bots coming up the stairs. It looked at me expectantly. Good little robot.

"Go and get me some fresh clothes," I asked it. I guess there were about fifteen vehicles ranging from mopeds to moving caravans lined outside packed to the brim with every little thing from my house.

Then I turned back and walked back into the bathroom for a much needed shower, stepping out to receive the clothes and toiletries off of the bot. It felt good to scrub my hair and shave. The bot had fetched me a blazer and some thick leggings that would still keep me warm in this cold environment. Steve must know that I need to make an impression.

It had been something I'd had to learn the hard way; if you want to look fearsome you wear your best clothes. It's not just a fact of looking the part; it's about feeling good and confident. In the end I might have felt stupid putting this into Steve's programming at the time, but I was thankful I had.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, my hair still damp from my towel dry, I felt good.

"Newton, come on boy," I said, walking out and down the stairs.

I padded towards the kitchens but they were closed and I didn't think it would leave a good impression if I broke into the kitchens to make a sandwich, so I set out to find Shane.

My best guess was the shooting range, where the lamps had lit the only group of people still awake and talking in the garage, so I set off in that direction. I could hear the hushed tension outside the open doorway when I approached. I stepped into the light, two lunch tables from the cafeteria had been crammed in the small space between the shooting range stands and the fenced off desk showing off an impressive display of guns behind the metal, despite over half of the gun racks were empty.

Shane was sat at the head of the table in a plastic chair, an array of people on either side. He didn't look like he was paying attention to the debate quietly going on between various members of the meeting, but when I stepped into the doorway his eyes met mine. He looked exhausted and worried and stressed.

He excused himself from the meeting and stood up, despite the various outcries of rage. By instinct I slid out of the door way and back into the dark empty corridor outside before any of them could see me.

I heard Shane say, "I won't be five minutes, I just need some air, what air I can get under this infernal dome anyway. Just chill. I'll be back."

And he was outside, stood next to me, looking down at me with those dark eyes. We stood there for a few moments, looking at each other, until Shane jerked his head and walked into the darkness, hands in pockets. With a sigh I followed.

He didn't say anything until we were outside, Newton sniffing the air and pacing in circles around us, checking the perimeter for anything that warranted his attention. And still Shane kept his silence, head tilted up looking at the stars through the dome. It gave off a small blue sheen, like some form of membrane. It looked fragile, but from what I gathered it was practically invincible.

Shane was so tall I couldn't see his face from how close I was stood to him. I wanted to reach up and take his chin and make him look at me. But I didn't think he would appreciate that.

"It sounded intense in there," I said.

Shane shook his head, "It's hard for us to imagine relocating now. We've been here for so long. We could do it, but I think that a lot of the wolves would leave. We're trying to do everything to avoid the situation."

I sighed, "Shane, I have something I need to say-,"

"Really?" He asked sarcastically.

I narrowed my eyes, "Don't be bitchy with me just because you're tired. If this happened a week ago, I would have sent a messenger to Amelie and paired up with her to go against Bishop. It would have been my recommendation. But Amelie has _truly_ pissed me off. I found Michael Shane, and he was-,"

"I know," He interrupted me, his chin tucked and eyes on his feet. I saw them glint as he glanced at me quickly, "He was tortured by Bishop. He was left all alone in Morganville and vulnerable to Bishop."

"Yes," I sighed, "I left him with Amelie. She shouldn't have left him, especially with what happened after Sam and her. I want her to pay."

"So what are you thinking?" Shane asked eyes fully on me now. I was glad it was dark so that he couldn't see the flush that his eyes sent through me, stupid addiction.

Truthfully, I was thinking why wasn't I in his bed ripping his clothes off and having the best make up sex in the world. Then I was thinking that he hurt me, and I pissed him off enough since he 'kidnapped' me, that he'd probably gladly hurt me again and I shouldn't be mooning after him like a bimbo. He had enough on his hands without me adding to that.

But that wasn't what he was asking. I wasn't going to tell him that.

I sighed, gathering my thoughts, "I send one of my auto bots with two contracts, one to Bishop and one to Amelie. We'll sign it, me you, Doc Mill's, anyone else who's important to the running of the wolves. We have conditions on it. No killing humans, no turning, they pay for blood, fair ruling, safety and they help rebuild the world. Bishop won't take obviously; we'll take him out and anyone who is high in this little messed up world. If Amelie _does_ agree, which I doubt, the humility enough will have to do along with my hatred."

Shane shook his head again, "You're insane, and if she doesn't sign?"

"We'll say that we'll wage war against her unless she agrees to compromise. I may be pissed off with her but I don't want her or her people, who have been fighting to save humans lives in their own little messed up way, to die." I bit my lip, "While this is going on we'll hunt down Vassily and Gloriana as well."

"We got one of his hide out addresses the other day by tapping into the phone lines. I put Eve at the head of the team hunting for him, but he'd cleared out of the house by the time they'd got there. That was our last lead and getting that was a stroke of luck. How are you going to find him?" Shane asked.

"The vamp that was in the car with me knocked out? You still got him?" I asked Shane.

He nodded, "In custody, why?"

"He's had dealings with both Gloriana whose in England and Vassily who's somewhere in the city but we can't track him. And I'm not talking about the give me drugs dealings. He's along the same level of power as them, their equals. He may be able to give us good intel," I informed him.

Shane stood still as if it was a vital part of absorbing information, hands tucked in pockets and his head slightly ducked so he could meet my eyes. He didn't have a coat or jacket on and the shape of his shoulders and arms, the way his chest was definable through the thin shirt, was distracting. I looked away and crossed my arms over my chest as if I was cold, my heart beating in my chest.

_You have to be kidding me_ I said to my body. Stupid incontrollable reactions.

"I have to go back. How about we go together and we'll write up these conditions for the contracts," Shane said.

But with a painful grumble I remembered the last thing I ate was a few bites of pizza talking to Michael, and I wasn't sure how long ago that was.

"Could I eat while we work it out?" I asked.

Shane looked down at me with a small smile, "Yeah, I'll wake Chef."

Fifteen minutes late and with a quick batch of some pasta stuff in front of me, which I was unceremoniously shoving into my mouth in hunger, Shane explained the basic concept of the whole, let's make a deal, here's a contract, sign it! plan.

"So it's like a treaty?" Jenna asked, head in her hand.

There were familiar faces all sat around the table, Eve, Monica, Rad, and even more recently found ones, Jenna, Watson, Kiara. They all sat quiet while Shane explained my idea.

"And so, once they don't sign these contracts, these treaties, which they won't," A new face butted in, "Then what?"

This is where I put in, distracting everyone from Shane whose eyes were drifting close, "You do what you do best, and start taking people out. Concentrate on Bishop first, show Amelie what you can do. Chase whole groups of Vampires into an ambush and take them out without survivors. Provide humans open protection. Stop working under the radar."

They newcomer was already shaking his head, "Too much publicity. One of the main fears about the wolves is our anonymousness. Our faces can't be recognised, vampires don't know if the human they've just taken on is a wolf or not. It's one of our greatest abilities to have spies everywhere."

I shrugged, "You seem to work well with bluntness to be honest. Listen, you don't have to sign these pieces of paper if you don't want to. We won't send them off for another three days, they need drafting and there are bigger priorities at the moment. We need to brainstorm and I'm presuming you've been in here for a while. While don't we do this over time, if you have an idea for the treaty, write it down and we'll have another meeting. Give people time," At this I glared at the new comer, "To think about it."

At this everyone sat back and prepared to stand, clearly eager to get to their beds. They looked at Shane, who ran an exhausted hand over his face, "Everyone meets here at noon tomorrow. Nothing much seems to be happening."

Everyone untangled themselves from the benches and left, as I got up to join them Shanes voice drifted towards me like a call, "Claire." I turned back towards them, and within seconds we were on our own, "Could you programme Frank so that I overrun any other command?"

It was a simple procedure, and would only require me to change some coding. I nodded, "I'll need access to him though."

Shane shrugged, "That's fine. Come on. And shh," He looked at me over his shoulder, his finger over his lips. His hand went for mine and then with a shocked look on his face he shoved his hands into his pockets again and walked off quickly, too fast for me to keep up with.

Newton took neutral territory between us as Shane rushed in front and I straggled behind. His apartment door was open behind him, he was already at the top of the stairs by the time I got there. I glared after him and closed the door, reluctantly trudging up the stairs. I craved to be alone with him, but at the same moment was terrified what could happen, what we could discuss in privacy.

The secret door was already open and Shane was already waiting for me to go through when I got up. There was a sudden awkwardness between us. I walked past him, our eyes watching each other wearily. I walked into the room, "Frank."

He appeared next to me and nodded, "Do it."

The panel for his programming lit to life at the side of his machine body. There was a corresponding gurgle to this new activity. He was going full steam ahead, constantly shifting and hissing on the spot. He'd be high maintenance throughout this war; I'd have to teach Kiara how to care for him for when I couldn't.

I wasn't two minutes typing his code into him. That done he nodded to me before fading. I walked back into Shane's room; he was topless on his bed fast asleep on his stomach, t-shirt still in his hand. My stomach clenched at the sight of his bare skin. One shoulder blade was covered in one big scab, presumably from the road rash he would have suffered from the bike crash when he came for me.

I couldn't help myself; I gently stroked the back of his head, right at the base of his head, soft silk like hair heaven on my finger tips. My fingers slid over the powerful muscles under his velvet soft skin, down his spine, stopping when they reached the bottom of the scab. A soft sigh caused my eyes to dart to his face, finally peaceful in sleep.

I drew my hand back and turned around, a sick feeling in my stomach, a mixture of fear and want. I kept trying to sort through my emotions as I tried to reach for the bottom of the wall that hid Frank from the rest of the world. I couldn't reach it; I couldn't even use the bed as leverage with it on the other side of the room, too heavy for me to drag over with Shane panned out on it. With a curse I walked over and gently shook Shanes shoulder, stuck for choices.

The urge to bend down and kiss his back, his cheek, straddle his ass like I used to when we used to mock wrestle, and he'd pretend to be pinned down, because he liked the feel of my weight on his hips, hit me in the gut. I gulped and shook him again.

I took a step back as his eyes opened and he rolled over and was on his feet within seconds.

"Claire?" He asked, disoriented.

I bit my lip, talking a few more steps back, "Sorry, you fell asleep, and I can't reach the wall door thing." I cleared my throat, unable to tear my eyes off of his chest. It was more defined than I was used to, and he had scars. They were clean, like knife wounds of something, like the one in his stomach where he was stabbed my Jason.

Luckily Shane turned around and pulled down the wall. Before I allowed myself to get distracted by the way he flexed to reach the wall, I turned and fled out of his room and down the stairs. The air was chillier out in the air hanger and I took deep breaths to cool myself.

_Calm Claire,_ I told myself, but every time my mind strayed, which it often did anyway, it was to those muscles. They seemed designed to tempt and test me; _Shane_ was designed to tempt me. A small choked sob left me in despair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that one minute he could get me horny, the next having me close to tears as something he did reminded me of that awful night.

I wandered silently through the hanger. There was the occasional guard I managed to spot, but they left me alone, trapped in my own head. See? They have muscles as well Claire! Why do they not have the effect Shane's does on you?

The answer was simple. He was Shane.

I was outside when I found my convoy of vehicles. There were several autobots, humming about the cars. There was a moving van that I don't have papers for and don't remember buying. Oh my god, I have a thieving computer! What have I done now? Steve stole a moving van!

Steve also had OCD, which would explain why the autobots were rearranging everything they'd packed into the cars by category, size and colour. I was also pretty certain I'd created a thieving OCD gay computer. Probably matches the name Steve as well.

I sighed, looking at the boxes of guns that had previously been installed in the ceilings of my house. I walked towards the RV and walked in, this had already been cleared for me. There was a seating area and a tiny kitchenette. At the very back there were drawers and closets stuffed with clothes, with a raised single bed.

I sighed and turned round; Newton had already curled up on one of the couches. I poked my head out of the RV door and called to the nearest bot, "Steve, start to take readings of the bomb. Frank?"

He appeared next to the door, cleaning his teeth with a finger nail, "Yeah?"

"Can you interact with Steve and tell him variables and stuff of the bomb. I think you're the one working it. Keep up the good work!" I said and then retreated back inside and uncovered the built in computer which was the main reason I'd bought the RV. That and it had a mini shower.

I sat down and glared and the screen, then I flexed my fingers, and started to get to work. If there was one thing that could distract me from Shane, it was work. And if sorting through all I'd got from hacking into Bishops mainframe computer wouldn't do the trick, then nothing would.

**So, there you have it! It's been a while, but I am trying to be more regular with my updates, I swear it. I haven't been into FanFiction much lately, I have loads of amazing stories to catch up on but I'm suffering one major CBA with reading. **

**Plus I discovered the 'Creative Writing' section on GoodReads, man what a blast! Still haven't figured out the technicalities yet, but it's interesting. **

**Anyone got any good O-M-HOLY-G this-story-is-so-addictive MV fanfictions to recommend? I'm at a loss and I can't be arsed sorting through the stories that don't even use capital letters in the title when looking.**

**I'm on a proper downer lately I swear.**

**If you review, and tell me something funny and random, like you're breeding a race of fabulous ballet dancing mangoes, I'll send you a teaser. Or tell me how you're celebrating the jubilee if your British and/or into that stuff. Personally, I am going to a punk rock party at my mad auntie Eileen's allotment. Screw house parties right?**

**REVEIW! **

**FW :{D**


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